False Identity
by Priest Li Xiang
Summary: [Book 1] Xover with Ranma (Oo) Farfello has a pet. His name is Kitty, and he's a martial artist with the ability to kill a god... [COMPLETE]
1. Kitty Lost

**August 19th, 2008: **Replacing the rewritten chapters with the original  
chapters. The new(est) rewrite will be located under the user name  
"The Itch", with the title "False Identity: Secondary Timeline", sometime  
within the half hour following this edit. The original story is being left  
here as a gauge of how much I've improved over the last six years.

* * *

Normally when I write Weiss Kreuz/Ranma X-overs (I've got two of them  
in the works, aside from this one) I don't come up with something quite  
this.. twisted. snicker This is definately not cannon...

Oh yeah, everything Weiss I know? It came from fanfics, and the few  
profiles I've read. And the Ranma stuff is again, fanfics. Although  
I have the first two volumes of the manga.

False Identity  
Prologue: Kitty Lost  
Li Xiang

The boy couldn't have been much older than eight. He was crouched,  
calmly licking the blood from one hand, as though he was some sort of  
cat. Black hair fluttered around his face, eyes contented, a far  
distance from the horrible fear that had plagued them before.

The twelve year old padding towards the cat-like boy smiled a bit  
vacantly, golden eyes glinting with some emotion not easily understood.  
It was as though the boy had found a kindred spirit.

"Hello Kitty," the pale haired boy's smile widened into a grin as the  
ebone haired boy turned shining sapphire eyes to him, tentively  
sniffing the air, "I won't hurt you, Kitty."

The pale haired boy wasn't afraid, despite having just witnessed this  
feral boy rip apart a rather large bird and eat it raw. No, he was  
facinated by the dark haired boy, in a way that nothing else had  
interested him before. Watching the blood splatter across the grass,  
across the boy's tattered karate gi, and across the obviously asian  
child's face. The irish boy grinned as the feline-like child padded  
towards him on all fours.

This child killer was beautiful, absolutely stunning, Jei licked his  
lips, crouching beside him, "What are you doing way out here, Kitty?"

The boy didn't answer, and Jei frowned for a moment. Maybe this little  
killer couldn't speak? Yes, that had to be it, "Well Kitty, I'm Jei.  
You wanna come home with me?" This will show that upstart tart of a  
mother of his. He could so have a pet! He'd just take care of this  
boy... he could hunt those birds his sister was always complaining  
about! Yes, then he'd be seen as more than just an idiot child...

The boy rubbed his head against Jei's side, apparently deciding that he  
liked the pale haired, golden eyed preteen. Jei bounced to his feet  
with a smile, and began to wander out of the park, the boy in tow, "I'm  
going to call you Kitty. You'll be my pet, alright? And we'll hunt  
those stupid birds together, and watch the blood rain down. Won't that  
be fun? I'll probably have to get you a collar, Kitty, but that  
shouldn't be to hard! I've seen some older people wearing collars  
themselves. Strange people those," Kitty gave an odd, rumbling purr  
that human vocal cords just should not have been able to make, as if in  
agreement.

"And we'll ahve to get you cleaned up, Mother doesn't like it when I  
trail blood in the house. She doesn't much like blood at all. It's so  
beautiful... I don't know how anyone could not like it." Jei continued  
to chatter on to Kitty about his family, about his facination with  
blood, with pain, with hurting things.

Jei's celebration of having a 'pet' did not last long, however. His  
mother had, quite acidically, refused to let the blood splattered 'wild  
child' into her home. She would not have something so... so... here,  
she had just given an inarticulate sound and screamed at Jei to take  
the boy back to whatever hovel he'd found Kitty in.

Jei had stormed out, Kitty growling at his mother before the black  
haired boy followed. Jei had proceeded to find a small place for Kitty  
to sleep, before pushing his 'pet' into the space, "Now, Kitty, you  
can't stay with me in the house, but you can stay here, and I'll take  
care of you, alright?"

And so it went, for two weeks, Jei cared for Kitty, growing accoustomed  
to having the feral child following him everywhere, at least when his  
mother wasn't around. The irish boy had even found a dog collar to put  
around his pet's neck, with 'Kitty' painstakingly carved into a small  
silvered piece of metal. The tag having been fastened to the collar by  
way of a piece of thick string.

With the sun beating down on them, Jei and Kitty made their way into  
the middle of the market. The people around them gave them a wide  
berth, having already seen Kitty's 'amazing'-- more like terrifying--  
ability to slash through anything with his curled, claw-like fingers.  
It wasn't like either of them were actually there to buy anything. Oh  
no, they were there to attempt to find something to hunt. Kitty had  
been feed an almost steady diet of meats, either cooked or raw, it  
didn't really matter. All that mattered was that Kitty ate what Kitty  
wanted.

"There you are, Boy!" barked a rather loud voice, in japanese. Jei  
ignored it, but Kitty stiffened, pulling back slightly and hissing  
loudly at the man. At this rather unsual reaction, Jei turned.

"What's wrong, Kitty?" A large, fat, and balding asian man wearing a  
karate gi that looked like it had seen better days, stood in front of  
Kitty. He frowned at Jei, before snagging Kitty by the back of his  
brand new black t-shirt, "Hey! Leave Kitty alone!"

The large man switched over to highly broken English, "He my son,  
I do what want with him."

Jei growled, springing at the man in a wild attempt to take back his  
Kitty. He was batted out of the air, by the large man's thick arm. The  
pale boy slammed back into a wall, coughing up blood as his head  
cracked roguhly against it. Jei shook out his head, momentarily  
surprised by the lack of pain that he had expected from such an impact.  
Sure he didn't hurt easily, but even he thought slaming into a wall  
would hurt.

When he managed to orientate himself again, Kitty and the man were  
gone. An unintelligable roar of fury welled up in his throat, and he  
let it loose. The man had taken his Kitty. Kitty was his! Someone  
was going to pay for taking his Kitty...

End Prologue


	2. Kitty Found

I forgot to put the disclaimer on the prologue. I own nothing but the  
idea. If anyone says otherwise, then I'll be in a bad mood. This means  
that none of the characters belong to me. Unless they're random people  
getting killed. Then they either belong to me, or themselves, in which  
case I'm in a bad mood, anyways.

False Idenitity  
Chapter One: Kitty Found  
Li Xiang

"Hey Ranma, what's this?"

The black haired teenaged martial artist looked up from the manga he  
was reading. Sticking his finger in to set his place, he looked up to  
see his fiancee's sister holding what looked to be a black strap of  
leather in her hands. It was dusty from years of not even being  
touched, and stiff for the same reason. A grimy metal piece hung from  
the leather, between her lands, dancing in the early evening light.

Sapphire eyes locked on the collar and he very carefully removed it  
from Nabiki's hands, "Where did you find this?"

"1000 yen," Ranma tugged the money from his pocket, not even bothering  
to look as he dropped the money into her awaiting hands. No, his eyes  
were locked on the collar, excitement thrumbing through him. He'd  
thought it lost...

"It was in Genma's things," the brunnete stated, a gleem of greed  
entering her eyes. Ranma had just handed her 5000 yen! Well, she  
supposed that he deserved more information for giving her a lot more  
than she had expected. Honestly, she hand't even thought that he'd have  
500 yen, "In a box labeled 'Ranma'. There was some other odd things in  
there, like all your baby teeth and a rather nice black t-shirt. So,  
what is it, Saotome?"

Ranma-- very carefully, mind you-- used the inside of his red silk  
chinese shirt to clean the dust and grime from the collar, revealing a  
silvered metal dangling from black leather by a sturdy, old string. In  
english, 'Kitty' was scratched into the metal, "I'll hafta get the  
string switched with a chain, but..." he shot Nabiki a grin, "Jei-sama  
gave this to me. About... eight years ago."

Not even hestitating, Ranma moved to tie the collar around his neck  
when Nabiki grabbed his wrist, "Hold it Saotome. Jei-sama?"

"Dunno his full name. He kept me from Oyaji for awhile when we were in  
Ireland-- gave me time to heal from a... really stupid training  
incident."

"But Jei-sama?" Nabiki hiked an eyebrow, "And a collar that reads,  
'Kitty'? What was he, a slave trader?" Ranma's fist caught her in the  
face before she even knew what hit her, and Ranma was on his feet,  
seething.

"Don't you ever talk about Jei-sama like that again. I owe him my  
life, Nabiki!" and the ebone haired sixteen year old stalked out of the  
living room, hopping onto the roof, and vanishing into the night. The  
middle Tendou daughter rubbed her sore cheek, already knowing that it  
was going to bruise, and bruise bad.

"You're going to pay for that, Saotome."

--

Jei paced his room, rubbing his forehead. His headache was terrible  
today-- the one constant he'd had since the day that fat oaf had tossed  
him into the wall and taken Kitty. He'd knocked something loose in his  
head, and it had a tendancy to throbbed like all hell for no particular  
reason.

That day had been the one when he'd killed his family. In a psychotic  
rage from loosing his only friend, his pet, his Kitty, Jei had vanished  
into the lunatic known as Farfello. Although he was much more lucid  
these days than in ones past, the headache still threatened to knock  
him over the edge. He needed to hunt something.

He needed Kitty.

Weiss... Abyssian... Fujimiya Aya... or rather, Ran. For some odd  
reason, that was the only one of the Weiss kittens he liked. He wasn't  
really partial to any of the others-- the only kitten he'd ever liked  
had been his Kitty, and he didn't like Weiss using cat names. Somehow,  
in that twisted mind of his, Kitty had been linked to all types of  
cats, and cat names.

Everytime he heard Weiss using their codenames, he wanted to find Kitty  
badly. Very, very badly.

/Thinking about that kid again, Farfie?/ the amused voice floated  
through his mind, and Farfello turned towards the door of his cell,  
where Schuldich stood. The redheaded assassin entered the room, and  
dropped down onto his bed. This time, the telepath spoke outloud, "You  
should let it go, Farf. The kid was taken away by his dad in Ireland,  
you can't honestly expect to find him here."

"The man spoke Japanese."

"And you expect him to be here? Farf, Japan's four islands, he could be  
on any of them, just give up on Kitty."

"I can't," Farfello turned in one eyed stare to the far wall, an odd  
look passing through his eyes, "I'll find Kitty... then we can hurt God  
together..."

Schuldich shook his head, standing up. Jei was vanishing back into  
Farfello again. He liked talking to the Irishman when he was lucid  
enouh to hold a conversation-- that wasn't about the mysterious Kitty--  
but listening to Farfello talk about hurting God was just plain  
distrubing.

"Alright Farfie, I'll see if I can find your 'Kitty'." It was the same  
promise he made everytime he had this odd conversation with his friend,  
before he drifted out of the room, wondering if, just maybe, if Kitty  
was found...

... would Farfello become more lucid, or more insane?

--

He crouched on the roof of the dojo, watching the pale moon ghost  
across the sky. It had been hours since he'd flitted from his room to  
the roof, to reveal in the heat the late summer's night. And even more  
hours since he'd retrieved the collar. With the metal buffed to shine,  
and the leather polished to a glinting black, it looked no older than a  
few days-- the old string having been replaced by a thin silver chain.  
No sense in having the tag fall off due to a string that was more  
likely to break than not.

He had removed the dragon whisker from his hair-- not that he needed it  
any longer-- and his dark hair swirled around his face in the breeze.  
Fingers reached up, to brush against the metal piece on the collar.

By tommarrow night, 'Kitty' would be properly engraved in the back-side  
of the metal. That would be the side he showed to the world in  
general, the side with 'Kitty' merely scratched in it would be  
something only Jei-sama would see.

"Idiot Therapist," Ranma grumbled, standing from his crouch and  
dropping off the roof. Silent feet moved the teenager like a shade  
through the yard, "Idiot Oyaji..."

He could still see Jei being thrown into the wall by his father-- still  
see himself attacking in a blind rage, but to no avail. Genma had  
unsealed the forbidden Techniques in order to subdue his wild child of  
a son, knocking the boy into peaceful oblivion.

After that point, he really only had vague, fading in-and-out memories,  
like those fo a bad dream, for the next eight years. Some of the  
trainning "accidents" he could remember in crystal clear detail, but  
other things-- and people, such as Ryouga-- were nothing more than  
shadows to his mind. However, after the plunge into Jhusenkyou, the  
springs of sorrow, all that had happened to him were as clear as the  
day of Jei's attack.

It was like he'd slept through life until that point.

Although, the 'dream-state' of life he'd been going through, began with  
a woman's face, and awoman's voice. A voice that whispered to hims that  
it wanted to help, to help him return to being a normal child.

Some help, he thought, bitterly. Dependant on Genma for everything, the  
inability to think for himself, to choose his own destiny... it was as  
though he had been nothing more than a toddler-- not the teenager he  
had been in body.

So, what was he now? Now that he could decide for himself? Was he the  
teenaged martial artist known as Saotome Ranma? Or was he the cat-like  
child-hunter Kitty? Perhaps some being in between? He just didn't know.

And the shade flitted from the Tendou garden, into the streets, to  
hunt.

--

The Telepath hiked an eyebrow, looking between the paused image ont he  
screen, and Crawford's blank face, "So... this kid's our next target?"

The look he got in return meerely made him grin, and Crawford had to  
forcibly remind himsel that he was too dignified to sigh in  
exasperation. Oracle composed himself in btu a split second, "No. Esset  
wants us to scout him."

"Why us?" Schuldich would have just pulled the information from  
Crawford's mind, had two things not stopped him. The first was that  
Crawford's sheild were practically impenitrable. The second was his  
gun-- Schuldich really didn't want to to die just yet.

"Because the last three scouts barely managed to get away alive."

"From this kid?" If this boy was good enough to throw off three of  
Esset's men, he could be considered one fo the best of the best...

"No, not from him--" eh, oh well, "--but from the collateral damage in  
his... fights. One of the scouts was very nearly crushed by a building  
collapsing on him."

"A building? Collasping from a fight? Brad, you have got to be kidding  
me!" In response, Crawford hit play, and the video began. It was  
apparently taken by one of the scouts, as the camera jerked a bit as it  
followed the boy's movements.

'The kid' was on the recieving end of a punch that sent him crashing  
through a wall, only to having him launching hismelf fromt eh impact  
crater mere seconds later. Fists and feet flew as he proceeded to  
pummel the hell out of his bandana'd opponent.

Said opponent began to glow a sickly green color. Even just watching it  
through a screen, the depression of the aura was palpable. The two  
fighters split apart, and the glowing one, shouted something. the aura  
vanished from around him, to be shot in a blast from cupped palms.

A spark of blue light had started in the original boy's hand. His own  
brillant blue aura flared aroudn him, before vanishing into the orb set  
in his palms. When the other had shouted his attack, he followed suit,  
sending his own blue light beam outwards. The beams clashed, battlign  
back and forth for a second, before the blue one overpowered the green,  
sending it's creator flying backwards and through another wall.

The camera cut out as the building began to collapse. Schuldich stared  
at the darkened screen for several long moments, before uttering, "Holy  
Shiiit..."

"Kitty."

Both Crawford and Schuldich started, neither having noticed Farfello's  
approach-- Schuldich had long ago learned to block out the insane man's  
thoughts to prevent himself from going stark raving mad, and Crawford  
had been studying the boy in the video. Attempting to figure out what  
sort of ability he had to let him fire off a ball of pure, visible,  
energy.

Farfello frowned, "That was Kitty."

"Which one, Farf?" Schuldich didn't really believe it was Farfello's  
Kitty, but hey, if the lunatic thought it was, maybe they wouldn't have  
to do with his episodes?

"The one who won. That was Kitty."

"How do you know that, Farfello?" Crawford, too, didn't believe that  
this boy could possibly be the 'Kitty' Farfello was so obsessed with.  
Farfello rewound the tape to about mid-fight, before pausing it.  
'Kitty's' back was to the camera, the breeze from his own movements  
kicking the small black pigtail up and out of the way, allowing the  
back fo his neck to be visible. It was to here Farfello pointed-- to  
the thin, white scar that ran along his spine from within his hair to  
beneath the blood red chinese shirt he was wearing.

"Kitty got that from my mother," the irish man grinned at that, "He got  
her back though..."

End Chapter  



	3. Contact

I'm not sure if this chapter turned out very well. While it's not  
exactly what I had in mind, it does fit. Hopefully, we'll get Weiss in  
here soon enough. Wonder how they'll deal with Kitty... and the  
situation I'm leading up to.

False Idenitity  
Chapter Two: Contact  
Li Xiang

"His name is Saotome Ranma," Crawford's voice cut through Farfello's  
retelling of his and Kitty's adventures, "Age 16, a student of  
Musabetsu Kakatou Ryu, one of the most notorious martial arts in  
japan."

Schuldich grinned a bit at that-- he knew of the Musabetsu Kakatou Ryu,  
granted, it was information stolen from various peoples minds. Usually  
people who had just got their asses handed to them by Ranma himself.  
The School of Indiscriminate Grappling was known both for their  
practitioner's general lack of giving a damn about anyone, or any  
rules, as theivery was one of the main components behind it's creation,  
and for their ruthlessness in winning a fight. That was the reason the  
school was referred to the School of Anything Goes-- because, quite  
literally, anything did.

Even the death of an opponant.

"So I guess I'm off to find Saotome, ja?"

Crawford nodded, "Take Farfello with you, when you go to Nerima. If  
this boy really is Kitty, he's likely to respond better to him." He  
left the fact that it had been eight years since Kitty and Jei had last  
seen each other, and Kitty might not recognise his former master,  
unspoken.

The telepathic assassin nodded, motioning for Farfello to follow him.

--

He ignored the icy glares of Nabiki over breakfast, he ignored the  
dirty looks his fiancee-- Akane-- was shooting him, ignored the  
slightly reproachful look Kasumi wore on her face, and the dark glower  
the three girls' father was shooting him. His own father was to  
engrossed in eating breakfast to notice the looks, or the dark bruise  
that comprised half of Nabiki's face.

While Ranma had been said to 'Never Hit Girls' by others, the teenage  
boy never recalled himself actually saying the words. Sure he didn't go  
full out on the girls that chased him, but that didn't mean he'd never  
fought against a woman when he was growing up. The real reason he  
didn't want to hit girls, or fight with them, was Xian Phu-- Shampoo.  
Would you want to fight with a girl after what he'd been through? For  
god's sake, all he'd done was defeat her in a fight and she wanted to  
KILL him!

Granted, that wasn't so unusal these days, but that was really the  
first inicdent where he'd fought with someone, and they'd decided to  
kill him for winning. But back then, it had terrified him-- afterall,  
he'd only just started to be able to clearly remember whatever happened  
to him at that point, only just began to try and take his life back  
from his father.

He set his chopsticks down, standing from where he knelt at the table,  
making his way in silence up the stairs. He was still only wearing his  
boxers and undershirt, having not bothered to get dressed before  
breakfast; it was Sunday, and therefore, no school. This only meant  
that his life would be more hectic than usual, as people wouldn't  
actually have to be in classes instead of attempting to kill him.

You'd think they'd learn, he mused silently to himself, I've killed...  
a god. I ripped him apart. Maybe if they'd been paying attention to  
him, and not their own lives, and problems they might have noticed that  
Ranma hadn't even gone through the standard 'oh my god, I've just  
killed someone', that most people did. It was like, he hadn't even  
cared that Saffron was dead, only that he protected Akane. It wasn't  
that he loved her; no, it was more for the thrill of the hunt, to be  
able to do something exciting. If Akane died... where would all the fun  
come from?

Had he not fallen into the spring that freed his minds from the grips  
of whatever the therapist and Genma had done to him, he'd probably have  
married Akane already-- probably have fooled himself into believing he  
loved her, through the vague, dream-like qualities of his memories. But  
the curse was a blessing in disguise. Although he was stuck with  
shifting forms at any tiny splash of water, he could think for himself.

He tugged off his undershirt, throwing it in a pile of disguarded  
clothing, moving to pick up one of his traditional blood red tangs. For  
a moment he stopped, looking at his arms, and the scars that danced  
along them-- they were hardly visible, paper cut thin marks that were  
the only physical remains of his training in the Nekoken. With a shake  
of his head, the martial artist pulled his chinese tang on. Fingers  
reached up to brush his hair off his neck in order to straighten the  
collar, skimming over the slightly raised scar that ran down his spine.

That was an incident he was not likely to forget, anytime soon. Or his  
own revenge on the woman who had done it to him. A faint smirk crossed  
his lips as he tugged his black silk pants over his boxers. A quick tug  
of his fingers through his bangs, and the Saotome boy jogged down the  
stairs. He was almost out the door when he called back to Kasumi, "I'm  
going out!"

Instead of responding, as she normally would, Kasumi merely looked up  
at the door, then turned back to cleaning. She wasn't all that pleased  
about Ranma hitting her sister, having taken the fact that Ranma didn't  
like to fight girls the same way pretty much everyone else did-- that  
he would never purposely hurt any girl. This one act had shattered the  
illusion for the whole of the Tendou family.

Ranma blinked for a second at the unusual respond to his call before  
shrugging and darting out the door. A moment later, Nabiki padded out  
after him, smiling cruelly. Ranma was most definately going to pay for  
hitting her.

--

"Where the hell is he?!"

Nabiki growled, holding her camera in a death grip. She had ducked  
around a corner when Ranma had looked around him, as though searching  
for something, almost an hour and a half ago. When she'd decided to  
come out of hiding to continue following the young Saotome, he had  
vanished.

Roofhopping, she'd decided. Following that train of thought, she'd gone  
to botht he Nekohanten, and the Ucchan, looking for the boy, but he was  
in neither place. She'd stopped by Furinkan, thinking he might have  
stopped there and got caught in a challenge, but again, he wasn't  
there.

So now, she was wandering about Nerima, looking for her "cash cow". And  
still, no one had seen him, anywhere.

"Can I help you with something, Miss...?"

Nabiki jumped in surprise, whirling to face the man standing behind  
her. She was on the edge of Furinkan-cho, about to cross into  
Tomobiki-cho; although she had contacts this far from the dojo, she'd  
never been in this area personally. She was known merely by reputation,  
as she'd made her contacts come to her.

The man was grinning-- bordering on leering at her-- his companion  
smirking, single golden eye glinting. There was something about that  
single eye that made her think of Ranma in the grips of the Nekoken. It  
held the same feral knowledge that he was the predator. Shifting her  
gaze from the scarred man's disconcerting one, she looked back to the  
man who had voiced the question.

Sharp jade eyes, and a face framed by wild red hair that bordered on  
orange. His hair was only held back by a yellow bandana, a pair of  
sunglasses balanced on his head. Nabiki ignored the leer, giving him an  
icy look, "Only if you can tell me if Saotome Ranma has been seen  
around here today."

"Kitty?" the pale haired one whispered with an odd smile, and the  
redhead grinned.

"What a coincidence. We're looking for Saotome, too."

The icy glare mutated into a sinister smile, "Oh? Did he do something  
to your family? Was he engaged to a sister or such?"

The pale haired one's expression darkened, but the redhead set a hand  
on his shoulder, "Something along those lines. I'm Schuldich, and this  
is Farfello."

Nabiki cackled on the inside. Two new, unexpected, challengers for her  
freeloading houseguest. Revenge was sweet.

--

Jei's single eye followed Nabiki's form as she guided them through  
Nerima to the Tendou Dojo. She had introduced herself to them shortly  
after the german had given their names, stating that she lived with  
Kitty. He'd growled in the back of his throat when he'd heard that,  
jealous that someone else got to spend time with his pet, but it had  
quickly been pushed back by a simple command from Schuldich.

/Can I kill her?/ the irishman whined to his friend, a pout in his  
mental voice, although no such expression came across physically. The  
redheaded assassin's own voice held a smirk.

/She's a mercenary, Farf. She's being ever so kind and guiding us to  
Ranma for free./

Jei gave a faint nod of acknowledgement, /After that, can I kill her?/

Schuldich shrugged, but said nothing in return, letting his friend  
muddle through his own thoughts. After ten or so more minutes of  
walking, they stopped at the gate of a large-- for Japan-- home with a  
dojo in back. They could hear the sound of a body slamming into the  
ground, and a scowl settled over the 'Ice Queen's' features, as she  
prowled around to the back.

The two assassins followed silently, not even their clothing making a  
rustle as they moved.

The sight that greeted them, while not unusal for Nerima, was somewhat  
of a shock to the two hunters. Kitty was pulling himself out of the  
ground, shaking his head out, as a girl with short black hair cradled a  
black skinned piglet to her chest, cooing to it. The piglet was also  
giving Ranma smug looks, that caused the martial artist to make an odd  
noise-- almost like he was holding back a growl.

Nabiki began to open her mouth to call out to the martial artist, when  
Schuldich did it for her, "Saotome Ranma?"

He turned, frowning, "Yeah, whadya want?"

The german smirked at the dark look on Ranma's face, acknowledging the  
veiled threat in the boy's eyes. The Musabetsu Kakatou Ryu had a  
tendancy to boast themselves as the best of the best-- something that,  
Schuldich, for once, didn't disagree with. Even only a breif skimming  
of the martial artist's mind had come up with hundreds of tortures  
beset on the boy by his own flesh and blood, not to mention the many  
techniques he'd learned from it, "I think we have something to  
discuss."

"And what would that be?"

Ranma's gaze shifted between him and Farfello, a faint splash of  
recognition darting across the teen's face. Farfello tipped his head to  
one side, staring, almost blankly with his single eye. The irishman  
spoke softly, his voice lilting with the words in his first language.

"Hello Kitty."

End Chapter  



	4. Flashback

You know, I've never gotten so much feedback for one fic: twenty-two   
reviews! I like making up new ideas ^-^V  
  
Okay, I recently read that Jei was really religious before finding out   
Ruth the nun was his mom. You can't just go nuts simply from that--   
something had to be wrong in your head before that. Therefore, I don't   
really have to change anything from previous chapters. Ah, the joys of   
psychology... one of my favorite courses :P  
  
It's a bit weird I might come back and revise this later, when I don't   
have writters block.  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Three: Flash Back  
Li Xiang  
  
  
"Hello Kitty."  
  
Two words. Two words he hadn't heard in nearly a decade, in a voice   
older, more harsh, than that of the one he remembered, but it was still   
his voice. It was still Jei, still the being the feline instincts   
focused on as a master, a partner, a friend. Wide, smokey blue eyes   
were caught and held by a single golden iris, and he was suddenly   
there. Back, eight years time, seeing, feeling, reliving...  
  
---  
  
Blue eyes snapped open, panic tearing through his mind. He did not   
recognize his surroundings.  
  
His nose twitched as he pulled back onto his haunches, head just   
brushing the large board of wood that had been balanced over the corner   
of the low, stone wall. The stones were worn and beaten by the   
elements, the board splattered with dried mud, and smelling of   
weeks-old mold. The moisture hung in the early morning air, clinging to   
blades of tall grass, sending sparkles of rainbow light with the rising   
sun. Over it all, was a vague, human scent-- not his own, confusing   
half cat, half human scent, but another's.  
  
A flash of gold eyes, and pale hair, and the boy settled back down to   
the ground. He knew where he was now. He was with the Interesting One.   
Kitty combed his mind for a moment, pulling away from his feline-self   
to take a tenuous grasp on his human consciousness-- Jei. Yesterday,   
the Interesting One had called himself Jei.   
  
Staring out over the yard before of him, Kitty focused on the dark blue   
one man tent pitched maybe six feet away, in the lee of an oversized   
oak tree. There was a shuffling noise coming from within; but although   
Kitty knew that it was only Jei in the tent, he could not fully relax.   
Flickers of a man he'd trusted fully and completely made their way   
through his mind, only to have the feeling of intense betrayal, and a   
burning hatred. He would not have that happen again.  
  
His grasp of his human-self was still weak, and it fled completely as   
Jei threw open the tent flap, padding towards Kitty only wearing a pair   
of pale blue pajama bottoms, and a white tank-top. He was smiling,   
carrying a plate of... something. The scent was familiar to Kitty, but   
as though he'd only ever gotten to smell it, never taste it. The plate   
was set down in front of the child-kitten, and he leaned forwards to   
sniff the meat, before looking curiously back up at the older boy.  
  
"It's cold steak. We had it for supper last night, and I saved you   
some."  
  
A sound that no human throat could possibly make reverberated through   
the young boy-- purring-- before he dropped his head to the plate and   
began to tear into it. His front paws-- wait, they were hands, weren't   
they?-- held the meat in one place as sharp teeth gripped it, and he   
yanked large chunks from it.  
  
Jei grinned at the sight of the feral boy pulling the meat to bits. How   
delightful! The meat was cold and tough, but Kitty was ripping it apart   
easily. The younger boy was amazingly strong, especially for one that   
looked malnourished.   
  
His clothing hung off him in tatters, a blood splattered   
gray-formerly-white dogi that looked to have been slashed to bits.   
Through the, admittedly, large gaps of fabric, angry red abrasions   
overlaid hundreds upon hundreds of dark claw slashes. He seemed to have   
been bathed in blood, the red fluid dried and clinging in pale dribbles   
down his skin.  
  
Quite amazingly, his face was free of all wounds, although his arms   
seemed to have taken a beating from studiously protecting his face and   
neck. He stopped his investigation of his new pet's physical health   
when the feline[1] child butted his head against the boy's leg.  
  
"I don't have any more food for you, Kitty," the low warning growl in   
the back of Kitty's throat made him frown, "I can't help it if there   
weren't any more left overs!"   
  
The pale haired child sighed, shaking his head, before turning away,   
"I'm going to get dressed. Then we're going to find you some new   
clothing, Kitty."  
  
---  
  
Some hours later, Kitty padded along the fence beside Jei. Walking on   
all fours had gotten him some odd looks from the many humans around   
him, but why should he care? He was better than all of them. He was   
still unsure of Jei, however.  
  
His human-self, the part of him the Cat desparately tried to grasp in   
order to understand somethings, thought that Jei was someone to trust.   
The Human-mind didn't have the Cat's instincts, but then, the   
Human-mind didn't really know anything about the Cat. What the   
human-mind knew, was that Jei had been nice to him, had been offering   
him food pretty much all day, and therefore, could be trusted.  
  
The Cat, while admitting that a foodgiver could usually be trusted,   
didn't know what to think of Jei. The flashes of an overweight man in a   
dirty white outfit that danced through his mind merely carried   
undercurrents of faded trust and love, and an overbearing amount of   
betrayal.   
  
Then there was the fact that Jei wouldn't let him just run around in   
his original clothing-- or, better yet, naked. What use did a feline   
have for clothing? None really, but still, Jei had dragged him out to   
the shopping center to buy him new clothing.   
  
The black t-shirt was a bit loose, but not enough to hinder his   
movements, and although it was harder to move in the blue jeans than it   
had been in the gi pants, again, it wasn't like he couldn't still   
fight.  
  
The feline-child cast Jei another look, before darting along the wall,   
and vanishing into the trees.   
  
Jei grit his teeth, and ran after Kitty. He wasn't about to let his new   
pet run away from him!  
  
---  
  
Almost without thought, the young martial artist was standing in front   
of the Irishman, smokey blue eyes on feral gold, one hand lifted to   
hover over the scars that danced across the older man's cheek,   
"Jei-sama...?"  
  
The redhead smirked, "Well, what do you know Farf? We did find him."  
  
Ranma's expression shifted, and so did his attention. A curious gaze   
landed on the other assassin, "Who the hell are you?"  
  
  
End Chapter  
  
[1] Feline, as defined by my dictionary, means 'Cat-like'. Just so   
people don't get confused, as Feline is quite often used to describe   
cats. It's like Lupine (Wolf-like), and Canine (Dog-like)  
  
Sorry about it being so short. Writters Block. . 


	5. Enter Weiss

Lately, I seem to have become ensnared by Final Fantasy 8. While we (or   
rather, my younger brother) have had the game for months, only recently   
have I actually become interested in playing it. And reading fanfics.   
Especially Squall/Seifer. (Seifer is God. ^-^V) Which is what I've been   
doing instead of writing.   
  
Oh yeah. I've never owned a cat. I'll likely get one when I move out,   
but my father is allergic to them. On that note, I rarely come in   
contact with them. If Ranma's not acting like a cat, blame it on my   
father's allergies.  
  
I'm trying to keep the postings at FF.net and Lady Cosmos' around the   
same time. Which should be about once a week.  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Four: Enter Weiss  
Li Xiang  
  
  
"Who the hell are you?"  
  
Saotome Ranma, martial artist, part time demolitions worker, general   
pain in the rear, sought after by many a lady, and also known to few as   
"Kitty", gave the redheaded assassin a dark look. He didn't recognise   
Schuldich at all-- not even the scent he could pick up was familiar, so   
it meant that Jei had made some friends over the eight years apart.   
Although not unexpected, there was an odd flash of jealousy at that.   
Jei was _his_ friend.   
  
"Schuldich," said man introduced himself with a slight bow, and a large   
smirk. Oh, how he was going to have fun with this boy! Jealousy was   
radiating off him over the prospect of Farfello having gotten himself a   
'replacement' for Kitty. All he really had to worry about was the boy's   
insane speed-- although he could probably match him, Schuldich would   
have to force himself to the level Ranma moved at naturally--, and the   
fact that he'd ripped apart a vitual god with his bare hands with no   
apparent remorse. He'd have to redirect those feelings so they didn't   
end up focused on him.  
  
But, aside from that...   
  
Farfello had snagged Ranma's raised hand, grinning in that creepy way   
of his. The one that screamed 'I've found a new way to hurt god'. For a   
moment, the telepath was tempted to peek into his pale haired frined's   
mind to see what he was thinking, then banished the thought. Right at   
this particular moment, he didn't really want to go into Farfello's   
mind. When that look entered that golden iris, it was safer to have his   
mental sheilds on maxium, to prevent himself from going insane.  
  
Schuldich spoke before Farfello had a chance to even start on one of   
his 'Hurt-God' rambles, "I've a proposition for you, bishounen." Sure,   
it was his nickname for Nagi, but it fit the pigtailed boy oh-so-well.   
Smokey blue eyes narrowed sharply, a quick glance in the direction of   
the money-grubbing girl who was currently gaping like a fish, trying to   
figure out just what the hell was going on around her.   
  
"What kind of proposition...?"  
  
Schuldich's own eyes flicked to the girl, "It would be best if this was   
discussed in private, Saotome."   
  
Ranma nodded, and started to drop into a crouch to bounce to the roof   
before pausing, and opening his mouth. Before the question even crossed   
his lips, Schuldich's mental voice brushed against him, /Yes, we can   
roofhop./  
  
The boy looked at him, clearly startled, confusion jarring his features,   
before Schuldich gave him a mental smirk, /This is part of what we have   
to talk about, Katzchen./  
  
The martial artist stared at him for a few more moments before sighing   
softly, "We'd best leave on foot, then take to the roofs. Nabiki   
shouldn't be able to follow us then."  
  
Schuldich agreed, again smirking, and shoved his hands in his pockets,   
"Let's go Farf. We've got a lot of talk about, eh?"  
  
"Kitty needs to learn the game rules," Farfello agreed, again with that   
distrubing smile, and Ranma gave his friend a strange look. Sure, Jei   
had been a little out of sorts when they'd first met, but this was   
pretty extreme, even for him. What had happened over the years?  
  
As the trio left the Tendou-ke, Nabiki snapped out of her daze, and   
crept swiftly after them, a frown marring her features. She'd been   
expecting the two gaijin to attack Ranma, not ask him a couple   
questions, and call him Kitty. Only three feet away from the gate,   
Nabiki froze.  
  
Kitty? Like on his collar?  
  
Then... her eyes narrowed. One of those men was Ranma's "Jei-sama".   
And, quite obviously from his reactions, it was the white haired man   
with the eyepatch, Farfello.   
  
Casting her gaze about for the unusal-- even for gaijin-- men. They   
weren't on the streets, which left her with the rooftops. And with her   
own inability to roofhop-- hell, not even Akane, her martial artist   
sister, could roofhop-- it would be impossible to track them. Dammit   
all.  
  
As she returned to her room, she persed her lips. Looks like I'm going   
to have to call in a favor I was hoping to keep open for a few more   
years...  
  
---  
  
Sprawlled across the branches in a tree above their heads, Ranma lazily   
watched Jei lick a knife and stare off into space, and Schuldich make   
himself comfortable on the ground. Sure, the redhead could have made a   
bed out of the tree branches like Ranma, but what was the point? The   
only reason Ranma was really up there was to keep his rivals and   
enemies from seeing him. Afterall, with his long hair, Schuldich could   
be mistaken for a girl by those blind, 'trigger' happy idiots Kuno,   
Mousse and Ryouga.  
  
"So what's this deal?"  
  
Schuldich hiked an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the martial artist to   
iniciate the conversation, although with the way previous 'deals' had   
ended up, Ranma probably wanted to feel like he was in control of his   
own fate. The assassin grinned at this; Ranma had a hard life... he'd   
fit in perfectly with the rest of Schwartz.   
  
"We want you to join us."  
  
"Huh?" Great answer, Ranma! he growled to himself, but before he could   
go any further into it, Schuldich responded.  
  
"We want you to join Schwartz." The redhead shifted a bit-- the tree   
trunk was damned uncomfortable!  
  
"And what's Schwartz?"  
  
"Us," came Farfello's answer, "Schuldich, and Nagi and Crawford, and   
me. And hopefully you, Kitty."  
  
Schuldich shook his head, "Just a group of bodyguards for hire,   
bishounen."  
  
Ranma ignored the nickname as he pretty much ignored everything anyone   
called him (with the nominal exceptions of 'Pervert', 'Femboy', 'Girl'   
or 'Osage no Onna'), "Bodyguards?"  
  
"And sometimes mercenaries," Schuldich shrugged, "We do what we're   
hired to do, and we get paid for it. Simple as that."  
  
The martial artist thought it over for nearly ten minutes; Schuldich   
could hear him weight pros and cons of being a bodyguard and being   
paid, verus being an oft exploited martial artist. While he wasn't   
exactly the smartest crayon in the box, he was no slouch either. He'd   
been taught to focus his considerable intelligence on how to fight for   
almost the entire eight years prior, and probably the bit before that   
he couldn't remember. It was hard to break out of a years long habit.   
  
Ranma flipped out of the tree with a thoughtful frown on his face, "I   
want to meet this Nagi and Crawford, Jei-sama, Schuldich-san."  
  
"Of course," Schuldich nodded. He was pretty sure Crawford would do   
whatever he could to have the literal powerhouse of energy standing   
before them join Schwartz. He'd be quite the ace-in-the-hole, "Anything   
else?" the questions racing through Ranma's mind came forwards as he   
opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"How'd you speak without movin' your mouth?"  
  
---  
  
"Well?"  
  
Schuldich looked up from examing his fingernails later that night. He'd   
managed to answer the majority of Ranma's questions without giving away   
the fact that he and the rest of Schwartz were actually assassins.   
They'd spring that on Ranma once he'd joined, and had no way to back   
out.  
  
For now, it was best if he thought they were merely bodyguards.   
  
Crawford stood over the redhead, a rather impatient look on his face--   
Farfello had immediately gone to his cell/room to plan something   
dealing with Kitty, and Schuldich had been dodging Crawford's inquires   
all night. It didn't help that where Ranma was concerned, Crawford had   
visions of several separate ways things could go. If things were to go   
the way he wanted them to, everything had to abide by his own terms.  
  
"Ranma wants to meet you and Nagi before he even considers joining."  
  
Bradley gave a nod of understanding, fully expecting Schuldich to   
continue with a 'report' of how the Saotome Boy had reacted to   
Farfello's sudden reappearance in his life. The jade eyed assassin just   
smirked at him, and Crawford growled in the back of his throat. He'd   
had enough of a hard time convincing Estet that Ranma would benefit   
from being a part of Schwartz instead of just being part of some random   
group.  
  
He wasn't in a good mood.  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm bringing Kitty here, so he can meet you two. The kid's   
a pretty talented martial artist-- powerful too."  
  
"Fine." Crawford shot Schuldich one last parting glare, before stalking   
out to calm himself down. Nagi hadn't even bothered looking up from his   
computer once through out the whole "confrontation".  
  
---  
  
Even without being a telepath, it was obvious what was going through   
the young martial artist's mind.   
  
"Farf wanted to stay back," Schuldich shrugged at the dark haired boy's   
questioning look. He had done some poking around in the irish man's   
mind, but he'd just come away as confused as to why Farf wanted to stay   
as he had when he went in. The pale haired man's mind worked in odd   
ways, "Come on, bishounen, let's go."  
  
With a nod, the young man bounced up onto the fence to pad alongside   
Schuldich as they walked. Normally, the redhead would have taken   
Crawford's car to pick up Ranma, but he wanted to figure out the   
Martial Artist. His mind was rather odd-- sometimes he thought like   
your normal everyday teenager, or a young child, and sometimes he   
thought like a wild animal-- a feral cat, persay. Therefore, it would   
be easier to simply get the boy to talk about himself.  
  
"What's with the fence-walking?"  
  
Ranma blinked, then shrugged, "Balance practise. 'sides, I get a larger   
view of my surroundings from here. Easier to dodge an attack that way."   
Seemingly unheeding of the fact that he was walking along the top of a   
chain link fence in nothing more than thin black slippers, Ranma leaned   
back to watch the sky as he walked.   
  
"You get attacked often then?"  
  
"Every few hours," again, a nonchalant shrug, "You get used to it." He   
scratched at his neck, just under his pigtail, "So where we goin'?"  
  
"To meet Crawford and Nagi," Schuldich smirked, "Or do you not want to   
anymore?"  
  
"Of course I do!" Ranma snapped, "If I can get out of this hell hole   
I'm living in, I will! No matter what I have to do!"  
  
The redheaded assassin's smirk widened. Ranma might just regret those   
words, but who was he to tell? Ranma had killed before. He would have   
continued this train of thought, but he-- and Ranma-- found themselves   
drenched from a spray of water from above. The martial artist growled,   
wringing the water from her red chinese shirt.  
  
Her?  
  
Schuldich proceeded to stare at Ranma for nearly ten minutes, openly   
gaping at the sight of a busty redheaded young woman standing where a   
black haired young man had been standing. The martial artist looked   
down at her equally wet companion and sighed, "Come on. Let's find   
somewhere to sit, and I'll 'splain the curse."  
  
---  
  
"Koneko no Sumi Ie, Hidaka Ken speaking, how can I help you?"  
  
Nabiki blinked, rather surprised. She hadn't expected someone she   
didn't know answering the phone. Shaking her head, she put the thought   
off, "Ah yes, can I speak with Tsukiyono Omi?"  
  
"Just a sec. Hey Omi-kun! You've got a phone call!"  
  
There was a muffled 'okay' in the background, and the sound of many   
girls whining as one, before a breathless voice came across the   
phonelines, "Omi speaking."  
  
"Hi Omittchi."  
  
"Nabs?" Omi's voice sounded surprised, but she had expected that.   
Afterall, they hadn't had much contact with one another over the past   
three years, excluding the couple emails they shot back and forth when   
they needed help.   
  
"It's me. Look, Omittchi, I need your help."  
  
"You must, if you're calling me instead of emailing," there was a bit   
of an amused tease in his voice. As of late, the things Nabiki had   
needed help for weren't all that serious. Just some hacked information   
in order to keep the 'local loonies' of Nerima out of serious trouble.  
  
Nabiki sighed, fisting her hair, "I had to call in a couple favors that   
I didn't want to. Ranma and Ranko seem to have come across some old...   
friends. Although I'm not sure if I should really use that word. They   
took off with one of them earlier this morning, and I'm worried."  
  
"You need me to look up some information?" Omi rolled his eyes at the   
conversation. Really, why would his old partner get so worked up about   
something as little as some friends tracking her two borders down?   
Their enemies did it all the time.  
  
"I already have. Of course, his friends had to have weird gaijin   
names."  
  
"So what do you need my help with?"  
  
The brunnette shook her head, although Omi couldn't see it, "I didn't   
get any information on the two that showed up. Nothing what-so-ever,   
even when I searched under Farfello's real name."  
  
The young assassin's blood ran cold, and he managed to squeak out,   
"Farfello?"  
  
"Otherwise known as Jei, with his friend Schuldich," Nabiki stated, a   
touch of panic in her own voice. Omi rarely got that squeaky note to   
his voice-- and she'd known him for over six years, "They showed up   
yesterday, looking for Ranma and Ranko by name."  
  
"Not good, Nabs. This is not good. Farfello and Schuldich are dangerous   
men," Omi glanced around, moving outof sight and dropping his voice. It   
wouldn't do to have one of the shop patrons over hear him, "They're   
assassins, Nabiki. Whatever they want from Ranma and Ranko means those   
two are in danger."  
  
"Assassins?" Nabiki hissed back, her own eyes darting to make sure no   
one over heard her, "Are you sure it's the Farfello and Schuldich I   
saw?"  
  
"Schuldich was a redhead with green eyes, right? And Farfello has lots   
of scars and an eyepatch?"  
  
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, before Nabiki   
managed to get out, "Yes. Oh god... I was mad at Ranma, yeah, but..."  
  
"Nabiki," Omi's voice was harsh in it's seriousness, a tone Nabiki had   
heard several times, but each one had been in some of the most   
dangerous situations the two had gotten themselves into, "What exactly   
did those two want?"  
  
"Kitty."  
  
"What?"   
  
"Kitty. It's what Farfello was calling Ranma and Ranko. He kept calling   
them his 'Kitties'."   
  
---  
  
A pair of redheads wandered down the streets of Tokyo. The first had   
red hair that bordered on orange, and jade eyes. He was also male. The   
second, a female, was short and busty, with dangerously narrowed,   
stormy blue eyes. She looked about ready to kill something, most likely   
her companion.  
  
"Bishoujo," Schuldich was still grinning over this new nickname that   
just made the boy-turned-girl burn with rage, "it's not a curse, it's a   
blessing!"  
  
Ranma's glare increased, "Stop calling me that! And it is a curse! Do   
you know how many people have hit on me-- or tried to kill me-- because   
of this form?!"  
  
"And how many of them still try to kill you in your normal form?"   
Schuldich shot back with an even wider grin, "besides, you can get a   
lot more jobs with an ability like that, Bishoujo!"  
  
Schuldich found his face firmly planted in the ground, Ranma shaking   
with rage as she retracked her fist. Her lips pulled back in a silent   
growl, before she managed to calm herself down enough to talk again,   
"Arse. When people find out, I get branded a pervert!"  
  
"And you're not, Kitty?" the assassin irritably rubbed his now sore   
face, before ducking beneath another attack, "Whoa! Calm down,   
bishoujo. All I meant was you live with three lovely young woman, are   
engaged to one of them, as well as two other beautiful girls--" yes, he   
had gone through Ranma's mind to see what Xian Phu and Ukyou looked   
like, "--you can't tell me you haven't thought about it."  
  
"I haven't," Ranma snorted, "I'm not interested in them." Before she   
could utter another word (along the lines of 'Schuldich-no-baka') a new   
voice interupted. Or rather, a whistle interupted.  
  
Ready, willing, and able to pound the idiot into next week, Ranma   
turned on her heel and found herself face-to-face with a tall, lanky   
young man. With brownish blonde hair, and a pair of sunglasses hiding   
his eyes, "Get lost."  
  
"Ah, is that anyway to treat someone who merely appriecating your   
beauty?"  
  
There was a snort from the ground, and Schuldich pulled himself to his   
feet, "She's only sixteen, Kudou."  
  
"You know this jerk?" Ranma asked over her shoulder, looking back at   
her companion. Who, she smirked, had a bruise starting to form from   
meeting the ground up-close and personal.   
  
Schuldich gave a shrug, countance obviously amused, as Kudou Yohji's   
eyes narrowed into a sharp glare from behind his shades, "Schuldich."  
  
"The one and only. If you'll excuse us, Kudou, Kitty and I have   
elsewhere to be." Ranma rolled her eyes at the look Yohji developed.   
Hooking her arm through Schuldich's offered one, in a way that was   
clearly designed to insult the playboy-ish young man, Ranma smirked to   
herself.   
  
That is, until Yohji grabbed her arm, tugging her away from the other   
redhead, "Schuldich is a dangerous man to get involved with,   
Kitty-chan."  
  
---  
  
"Alright, Nabs, I'll help you find them."  
  
"When you do, Omittchi, have them stay with you. They'd be safer with   
you than here, considering that those two get into more than their fair   
share of fights just by opening their mouths."  
  
Omi chuckled, although it was a bit strained, "I understand, Nabs, and   
don't worry. We'll--"  
  
"Stop being an asshole, I can take care of myself," came a waspish snap   
from the front of the store, and Omi had to blink at the sight. A   
redheaded young woman was stalking into the Koneko, followed by Yohji.   
Yohji had a red handprint decorating his cheek, but he didn't really   
look like he cared. In fact, he looked like he was worried about   
something.  
  
"Omittchi? Omi, are you still there?"  
  
"H.. Hai, I'm still here, Nabs. Uh, Ranko is a short, er...   
well-developed redhead, right?"  
  
Nabiki's voice sounded confused, "You should know that, Omi, I sent you   
a picture of both Ranma and Ranko, remember?"  
  
"Yeah. Uh, can I call you back, Nabs? Something just came up."  
  
"Oh, alright. Just do it soon. I don't have forever, you know."  
  
"I know, I know. Bai bai."  
  
"Bai bai," there was a click and Omi hung up, turning back to face the   
front of the store. The redhead and Yohji seemed to be in a rather   
heated, but whispered arguement, punctuated repeatedly, by the redhead   
slapping away Yohji's hand every so other, or even going so far as to   
kick him.  
  
The seventeen year old padded over to where the arguing pair were,   
well, arguing heatedly. Their voices became clearer as he got closer.  
  
"I told you-- I can take care of myself!"  
  
"The man you were with is dangerous!"  
  
"Schuldich couldn't touch me if he tried!"  
  
"You don't know how fast he can be! You're lucky you're still alive!"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? Schuldich is my friend!"  
  
"Only until your usefulness wears out! He's a manipulative little--"  
  
"And your a stuck up playboy who can't get over the fact that I   
couldn't give less of a damn about you!"  
  
"Ahem... is there a problem, Yohji-kun?"  
  
End Chapter 


	6. Redhead

If I went by the actual chapter outline, it should be about twice as   
long as it is. Why isn't it? Well... I managed to loose this on   
Tuesday. Not hard to do when it's on floppy and you've got over forty   
separate disks. There's this little pile of them sitting on the edge of   
my desk. By little pile, I mean there are fifteen disks sitting there.   
All of them have stuff on them. If they didn't they'd be in my desk.  
  
The disk this was on was at the very bottom of the pile ^-^;;  
  
Don't worry, the other half will be in the next chapter.  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Five: Redhead  
Li Xiang  
  
  
Tsukiyono Omi sighed, shaking his head at the sight before him. Ranko--   
that's who the girl had to be, she looked almost identical to the   
picture he'd gotten from Nabiki-- refused to even look at Yohji. And   
she was muttering about idiots who couldn't mind their own business   
under her breath.   
  
After having broken up the argument, or at least, attempting to do so,   
Omi had introduced himself. Ranko didn't really seem to care all that   
much, just muttering a 'Whatever. Nice to meet you, too', before she   
turned her back on the dirty blonde playboy. He'd spent the last five   
minutes watching Yohji try to explain why she had to stay away from   
Schuldich.  
  
Well, the seventeen year old mused, at least we know where Ranko is. I   
should call Nabs back.  
  
With that thought, the young man walked back over to the phone,   
searching his mind for a moment before he remembered the number of the   
Tendou Dojo.   
  
"Hello, Tendou residence"  
  
Omi grinned a bit, "Good afternoon, Kasumi-neesan. Is Nabiki there?"  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ranko's head snap up, and the   
redhead began to prowl closer. The feline grace in her step made him   
shiver a bit. No wonder Farfello had called her 'Kitty', "Oh! Omi-chan,   
is that you? It's so nice to hear from you again! I'll get Nabiki for   
you, it'll only take a minute."  
  
"You know Nabiki?" Ranko's voice was so soft it sounded deadly. Again,   
a shiver ran up his spine, but before he could comment, Nabiki picked   
up the phone.  
  
"Omittchi?"  
  
"Hey Nabs. You don't have to worry about Ranko. She's standing beside   
me."  
  
The amount of surprise in her voice was rather considerable, "She's   
WHERE?!"  
  
And the phone was removed from his hand. Ranko was smirking as she held   
the receiver up, "I'm right here, Nabiki. I don't want to be, but here   
I am."  
  
"Ranma!" This of course, was impossible for Omi to hear-- he didn't   
have the whole heightened martial artist senses Ranma/Ranko did. Sure,   
his own were higher than normal, he was an assassin, after all, but   
nowhere near the level of a martial artist who'd been attacked out of   
the blue repeatedly for years, "How did you get to the Koneko? When did   
you get there?!"  
  
"Why so many questions Nabiki," the sneer was readily heard over the   
phone, "I thought you knew where everyone was, and who everyone was   
with?"  
  
"This isn't the time for jokes, Ranma! Those men you took off with are   
dangerous!"  
  
Ranma snorted, "You're the second person to tell me that. Why should I   
believe _you_ Nabiki?"  
  
"That was low."  
  
"And you've manipulated me for your own gains since I arrived. You've   
held the truth back from me, repeatedly."  
  
Nabiki sighed, and Ranma could just see her pinching the bridge of her   
nose in annoyance, "Ranma, Jei and Farfello are assassins. They're just   
using you!"  
  
"It wouldn't be the first time," again, Ranma's voice had gained that   
soft, deadly quality, "None the least of them, was you, Nabiki. Why do   
you think I'm better off with you, than with them?"  
  
"Ranma, listen to me--"  
  
"Why should I?!" voice still soft, still deadly, but a hint of   
annoyance had crept into it, "No one listens to me! No one gives a damn   
about what I want, and who I want to hang out with! It's always turned   
around, so I come up bruised and bleeding! EVERY SINGLE DAMNED TIME!!"  
  
Omi and Yohji had been listening to their side of the conversation with   
growing confusion, when Ranma's suddenly yelling voice made both   
assassins jump. Omi reached for the phone, but his hand was batted out   
of the way, an irritated glance in return. Looking down at his stinging   
hand, he gave a hiss of breath.   
  
It looked like he'd been sliced by a set of claws. And hurt just as   
bad.  
  
"Look, Ranma..." silence was her answer, and when she was sure that the   
ready to explode martial artist wasn't going to interrupt, she gave a   
small sigh of relief and continued speaking, "If you stay with Omittchi   
at the Koneko... I could keep Akane from finding out where you are."  
  
"Why are you being so nice, all of a sudden?"  
  
It was her turn to snap, "Whether you realize it, or not, Saotome,   
you're family. You've been living with my family for two years now, I'm   
used to having you around--"  
  
"--To make money off of--"  
  
"--and I don't want you to end up dead because you got yourself   
involved with assassins. Just... stay with Omittchi, until we can make   
sure Jei won't hurt you."  
  
"Are you suggesting that Jei-sama would _hurt_ me?"  
  
"Yes. Dammit, Ranma, it's been years. People change! The guy is   
sociopathic! You don't know what he's like anymore!"  
  
Silence. Ranma had closed her eyes, bowing her head for several   
moments, before taking a breath, "Alright. I'll stay here. But only   
because it gets me out of Nerima for awhile."  
  
"Good," again Nabiki gave a sigh, "And Omittchi can keep Jei away--"  
  
"He does, and I'll kill him," it wasn't a threat. It was fact, spoken   
without inflection.  
  
"... alright. Just be careful, Ranma. I don't want to lose my little   
brother." Even if, the young woman thought to herself, I still have to   
get revenge for him hitting me. "Could I talk to Omi, again?"  
  
The phone was passed without another word, and Ranko wandered off to   
glare at the girls standing around the shop, getting ready to go in and   
get giggly over the staff. A flash of orangish red hair caught her eye,   
and she turned to see Schuldich grinning at her. He lifted a finger to   
his lips, and winked.  
  
//I'll contact you later. This might work out better than we'd planned.//  
  
//Maybe,// Ranko sent back to the older man, before turning back to the   
shop and hopping up on the counter with a disinterested glance. Another   
young man came out of the back, hefting a potted plant to put on   
display-- brown hair, blue eyes.   
  
He blinked, "Who...?"  
  
"Saotome Ranko, desu," the redhead narrowed stormy blue eyes on the   
young man, "and you?"  
  
"Hidaka Ken," he rolled his eyes as the girls who had specifically   
waiting for him began to swamp him, and Ranko snorted. They guy   
couldn't even keep his admirers away from him.  
  
//And you're any better?//  
  
//Get out of my head, Schuu. Omi's headed this way.//  
  
"Do you have to go back to get anything?"  
  
Ranko gave the other teenager The Look, "No. Nothin' there of much   
importance."  
  
The assassin nodding, sighing mentally. He'd hoped the redhead would   
have to go back to Nerima so he could at least discuss this with his   
teammates. Where would they keep Ranko? There weren't anymore empty   
rooms, and what would Aya think? He cringed, quite visibly. The icy   
swordsman wouldn't take to well tot he idea-- let alone the reality!--   
of having a young woman staying with them.   
  
"Something wrong, Omi?"  
  
"Ah, it's nothing," Ranko smirked at the slightly forced smile that   
crossed the older boy's features, "... how did you run into Yohji?"  
  
"He dragged me away from talking to a friend."  
  
"Schuldich?"  
  
Ranko hiked a ruby eyebrow, "Nabiki tell you that? Or Kudou?"  
  
The teenager shook his head, "Nabiki. But we've met. You have to be   
careful around him. He's a dangerous man. Farfello-- Jei-- is just as   
dangerous, if not more, Ranko. I'd be careful around both of them."  
  
Ranko's eyes flashed dangerously, "Are you sayin' I can't take care of   
myself?"  
  
"Nothing of the sort!" Omi'd heard the stories from Nabiki, seen the   
destruction in Nerima on the news. He'd never tell someone capable of   
knocking a building down with a simple punch that she couldn't take   
care of herself, "It's just that Schuldich can play games with your   
mind. He could trick you into believing he's perfectly harmless."  
  
Ranko let a growl escape the back of her throat, "First Kudou, then   
Nabiki, and now you, Tsukiyono. What have you got against my friends?"  
  
"It's not that, Ranko. They just... might attempt to hurt you!"  
  
Ranko lashed out with her fist, stopping it millimeters before the   
other's nose, "Are you sure _I_ won't hurt _you_?"  
  
Omi hadn't even the time to reflexively snap his eyes shut before   
seeing the fist in his face. He flinched. Ranko dropped off the   
counter, sauntering over to the brunette at the front of the shop. She   
could feel for the guy-- he was drowning in obsessive fan/school girls.  
  
"Hey!" One of the girls yelped as the redhead shoved her way through   
the crowd. A quick glare from the not-so-happy redhead stopped her in   
her tracks.  
  
"Hello, Again."  
  
"Eh?" the blue eyed teen blinked, a bit confused, the grinned, "Oh, hi   
Ranko. What can I do for you?"  
  
"Nothing. I just don't want to have to talk to Kudou or Tsukiyono."  
  
Ken frowned at that, a confused light entering his eyes. He was used to   
some girls-- the ones with steady boyfriends, or husbands-- getting mad   
at Yohji for hitting on them, but this was a girl who'd fit right in   
with the normal giggling girls. Well, if she wasn't wearing a Chinese   
style tang and black silk pants. "What got you mad at _both_ of them?"  
  
"Watch it girl," Ranko snapped at a girl who was actively trying to get   
Ranko out of the way, and catch Ken's attention at the same time. The   
redhead gave Ken an exasperated look as the girl failed to stop, "They   
believe I can't take care of myself."  
  
Ken picked up an empty pot next to the display he'd been attending to,   
and started towards the back of the shop, "So why don't you just   
leave?"  
  
"Because my personal manipulator said I had to stay here until   
Schuldich and Jei-sama decided to leave me alone. And she said she'd   
keep the lunatics off my back."  
  
"Schuldich and 'Jei-sama'?"  
  
Ranko cast him a look out of the corner of her eye, "If you so much as   
think to tell me they're dangerous, you'd better pray you have an   
up-to-date will."  
  
"Ah... right... oh, hey look! It's Aya," Ken made a gesture towards the   
redheaded man only now entering the shop. Ranko assumed he was   
returning from a delivery, but the way he moved caught her eye. She'd   
seen someone move like that before...  
  
Now who... she flicked through her memories of battles passed, and   
hiked an eyebrow. A Swordsman. Much better than Kunou... a blade master   
if the way he moves is any indication of his skill. He looks like he's   
missing something-- like he should have a katana with him.  
  
Her eyes tracked the swordsman for several minutes before he looked up.   
Smokey blue eyes met intense violet, and Ranko's lips quirked in a   
smirk.  
  
---  
  
The flame haired assassin continued to be infuriating. As in, a smug   
smirk in Crawford's general direction, the telepathic assassin keeping   
his lips shut. The American's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Why did you leave Saotome with Weiss?"  
  
Schuldich's smirk widened, "Didn't you tell me to do _anything_ that I   
thought might get Ranma to help us?"  
  
Bradley frowned, but he understood what Schuldich meant. The American   
crossed his arms, and leaned over the seated German, "How do you plan   
for him to get the information we want?"  
  
"_She_ is able to use the Umi-sen-ken, and render herself invisible,"   
Schuldich's smirk widened into a full grin.  
  
  
End Chapter 


	7. Conversations

The big, important thing I want to know...  
  
What couples should be in this? I'll accept anything but inter-Schwartz   
or inter-Weiss relationship. (Stuff Like SchuuKen, or OmiNagi is okay,   
though) And no Ranma/Shampoo, Ranma/Akane, or Ranma/Ukyou. While I'm a   
fan of Ukyou, I just can't seem to fit her into the story.  
  
Oh, and another big question... should Ranma be male or female in the   
couples? *smirk*   
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Six: Conversations  
Li Xiang  
  
  
"Where's Kitty?"   
  
Schuldich didn't bother to shift his attention away form the   
television, "With Weiss."  
  
The silver haired assassin blinked his good eye at Schuldich for a few   
moments, before bounding over to the other man, "What do you mean, he's   
with Weiss? He's supposed to be with me!"  
  
The jade eyed one rolled said eyes before turning to face his friend,   
"He's with them to gather information. Balinese "rescued" her from me   
this afternoon. I told him to go with Kudou, and I'd contact him   
later."  
  
"Oh," the madman nodded. Maybe Kitty could get rid of Weiss for him?   
Well, except Abyssian. He needed to figure that man out. Then he could   
die. Secure with that thought, Farfello went over the sentence in his   
head again. Her?  
  
Schuldich had gone back to his program, but that didn't stop the other   
man from poking him, "Her?"  
  
"Jusenkyou," the man responded absently, "Ranma had a gender shifting   
curse. He's staying with Weiss in female form." Schuldich noted to   
himself that Farfello had left the room, then went back to his show.  
  
He hadn't expected a documentary on Egyptian curses to be so   
interesting[1].  
  
---  
  
Ranma made a face, putting the thick, heavy-duty black garbage bag   
outside the door. In her mind, she made a note to mention it to one of   
the four guys she was now, willingly or not, living with. She didn't   
know what they wanted to do with the huge bag of clippings; most people   
would throw them out-- but these were florists. Maybe they used them   
for compost? She didn't really care, either, she was hungry, she wanted   
food, and that was all that mattered.  
  
Aya, she reflected, hadn't seemed very pleased with the fact she was   
staying with them. Well, he'd frowned and sent her a "death glare",   
before sending her to water the plants. She'd also ended up cleaning up   
the leaves and flower petals that had been knocked off the plants by   
overbearing fangirls.  
  
While she was no stranger to working-- there had been the stint at the   
Nekohanten, and before that a few odd jobs here and there for food   
money, while on the road-- it had been the first time she'd worked in a   
flower shop.  
  
She knocked over four separate plants-- one of them three times-- and   
got yelled at by Aya.  
  
A smile curved her lips as she turned to go back inside. All-in-all,   
not that bad of a day.  
  
"Kitty."  
  
She didn't flinch, or jump or start. She'd known he was there almost   
from the moment he'd arrived. Smirking grin across her face, she   
turned, "Jei-sama."  
  
The Irishman padded out of the night's shadows, single golden eye   
staring at her with annoyance. Which was rather set off by the rather   
creepy sight of a one-eyed, scared up older man _pouting_ at her.   
  
"You didn't come."  
  
The redhead gave a lazy shrug, "Didn't have much of a choice, Jei-sama.   
Kudou wouldn't leave until I wasn't with Schuldich, and Schuldich said   
I could help you if I went with the creep..."  
  
The assassin nodded, reaching forwards and clasping her shoulder,   
tightly, "Easily rectified," he nodded, again, this time to himself,   
grinning at 'his' Kitty, "We'll just go, now."  
  
He tugged Ranma forwards, and she stumbled for a split second before   
correcting her balance. His grip loosened for a second, only to tighten   
again, his hand having slid down to catch her wrist, and he turned,   
pulling her after himself.  
  
The door swung open, then, and annoyed looked Aya standing in the   
doorway. He'd been ready to tell "Ranko" that she was taking to long   
for just throwing out the garbage, but the words died on his lips.   
Violet eyes narrowed at the sight of what was, apparently, Farfello   
dragging Ranko away from the store.  
  
"Farfello!"  
  
The silver haired assassin dropped his Kitty's arm, whirling to face   
Abyssian. Said redheaded male had already dropped into a fighting   
stand-- he didn't bring his katana with him, for rather obvious   
reasons.  
  
"Go away, Weiss," Jei snapped, the light of sanity in his eye   
vanishing, "I'm collecting my Kitty."  
  
Abyssian's own violet eyes darkened almost to black in the sparse   
light, and he growled, "I'm not failing a mission just because you   
think she belongs to you!"  
  
"Mission?"  
  
Ranma winced, but said nothing. If Aya won, Nabiki would loose a fair   
amount of money. If Jei won, he'd be with the only person he really   
trusted. Both were tempting situations to him.  
  
Aya didn't respond-- at least, verbally. He lashed out with a kick,   
intending to drive the Irishman away from Ranma. Farfello responded in   
kind.  
  
Ranma backed into the shadows, preventing herself from becoming   
accidentally involved in the fight. She didn't leave, either, instead   
assessing the skills of the combatants with a skilled eye. While Aya   
was obviously used to fighting with a weapon, he was doing alright   
using basic hand-to-hand skills. His movements were a quite bit more   
choppy than what Ranma would consider 'passable'.   
  
Farfello, on the other hand, had pulled one of his knives and was   
actively slashing at Aya. The redhead looked like he could use some   
help... and the idea of costing Nabiki more money that she usually took   
from him was getting more enticing by the second. And she could still   
get info for Schuldich, helping Jei-sama in that way.  
  
Besides, she was still hungry, and the Koneko's kitchen was closer.   
  
The martial artist reached up her sleeve, frowning slightly. She might   
not have figured out how Muu Tzu hidden weapons technique reduced the   
weight of everything he carried, but she had learned how to fold his ki   
in such a way as to hide various weapons upon his body. It was due to   
the weight problem that he rarely stored anything.   
  
The Saotome Family honor blade came free of the extra dimensional   
pocket, held loosely in her fingers. Nodoka had given him the blade   
the night after the failed wedding attempt, and even though Ranma   
hadn't wanted to take it, he'd never been able to refuse his mother.   
He set the katana on the ground, loosening the cloth as he did so.  
  
A light kick sent the sword skidding across the ground, the cloth   
pulling away as it caught on the uneven surface. The blade smacked   
against Aya's heels, tripping the assassin at the sudden appearance of   
an obstruction.   
  
Irritably, he dodged another knife strike, already bleeding from a   
dozen wounds, and glanced down at the half wrapped sword. Looking back   
up at his opponent, the redhead gave a tight grin, and ducked,   
snatching the blade up as he did so. He leapt back a couple paces,   
giving the blade a test swing in Farfello's direction.  
  
From there, the "battle" turned. Aya had a farther reach with the   
sword, and even though Jei felt no pain, he could feel exhaustion from   
both fighting, and blood loss. The silver haired man backed off with a   
low growl, before his eyes landed on Ranma.  
  
"Don't worry... I'll get you back, Kitty."  
  
---  
  
"Explain what that was about, now."  
  
Ranma didn't respond, merely turning to the cabinets and rifling   
through them in search of the elusive thing known as food. She was   
still hungry, dammit! After a few minutes she found a package of   
ichiban noodles, and proceeded to crush the noodles into little,   
bite-sized pieces. She was feeling rather lazy, and didn't bother to   
boil any water to cook them-- besides, she had to be careful of hot   
water.  
  
There's a laugh, she mused dryly to herself, being careful of _hot_   
water, again.  
  
"Ranko," Aya snapped, throwing the-- once again wrapped-- sword on the   
table, he stalked towards her, "Why the hell is Farfello after you?!"  
  
She poured the beef bouillon into the noodle bag, shaking it and   
humming slightly as she did so. Dry noodles, the instant snack. Stormy   
blue eyes met orchid violet eyes, "He saved my life eight years ago," a   
handful of noodles disappeared into her mouth.  
  
Aya managed a look of absolute surprise, and proceeded to break all the   
rules he'd made up for himself when he became 'Fujimiya Aya', and for a   
few seconds, at least, let Fujimiya Ran be expressive, "_Farfello_   
saved your life? He's a psychopath!"  
  
"And I was certifiably insane when we met," another handful   
disappeared, "the rescued me from my idiot of a father," she said no   
more, preferring to eat in silence while the redheaded member of Weiss   
mulled over the thoughts.  
  
"Why would he come after you, now, after eight years, Ranko?"  
  
Ranko shrugged, "I may have been insane once--" Okay, more than once.   
Damned cats, "-- that doesn't mean I know how a confirmed sociopath's   
mind works. Jei-sama is Jei-sama."  
  
She finally just knocked her head back, and poured the noodles down her   
throat. Coughing at bit on the bouillon, she grinned over at Aya, "Mind   
if I take my mom's sword back?"  
  
He looked at the katana, still resting on the table, then back at her,   
"You gave me your mother's sword... so I could fight someone who saved   
your life?"  
  
Ranko smirked, taking the blade and making it vanish into her clothing   
again, just as Ken entered the kitchen, "Nabiki is paying you good   
money to keep me here. She deserves to loose lots and lots of money."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, Aya," was the cheerful response, "She badmouthed Jei-sama."  
  
"Jei-sama?" Ken gave Ranma an odd look, "do I want to know what you   
were talking about?"  
  
"Not likely," the short redhead grinned at him, "Did you find a place   
for me to sleep, Ken?"  
  
The brunette blinked at the change of topic, then shrugged, "Yohji   
thought we should put you in Omi's room-- but you don't seem to get   
along all that well..."  
  
"Tsukiyono is an idiot," the redhead muttered, "and until he can prove   
otherwise to me, I won't go near him, or his room."  
  
"...anou... yeah, so them, my room was suggested, but it's kinda a   
mess," Ken colored slightly, "So the only other room is Aya's." Yohji's   
never came into question for two reasons. First, he was a playboy. And   
second, Ranma had shown a hell of a lot of hatred for him.  
  
Aya frowned, then stalked out of the room, calling over his shoulder,   
"Fine."  
  
Two pairs of blue eyes followed him out of the room in surprise. Ken   
scratched the back of his head, "What was that all about?"  
  
"How would I know?" Ranma gave Ken a sidelong glance, "He's your   
friend."  
  
The assassin barely resisted the urge to face fault.  
  
---  
  
Dark. The room was really dark, Ranma noted, fingers locked behind her   
head. And the ceiling was boring. Aya had a really boring ceiling, but   
that's not unusual.  
  
Ranma couldn't sleep.  
  
/I would have thought you'd have nodded off a long time ago, Bishoujo.   
It's past midnight./  
  
"Hello Schuldich," the girl drawled, "and don't call me, 'Bishoujo'."  
  
/I wonder what would happen if Fujimiya woke to hearing you talk to   
me.../  
  
The 'girl' made a face commenting, "Aya's asleep, Schuldich. He's been   
asleep for over an hour."  
  
/Ah, if you say so,/ neither of them mentioned that it would be easier   
if Schuldich "peeked" in on Aya's mind, to find out, /You find anything   
out, Bishoujo?/  
  
"Found out Aya's good at ordering me to do chores."  
  
/Anything useful?/  
  
"He's good with a sword? But somehow, I think you already know that,   
Mister Telepath."  
  
A mental chuckle, /You are correct, Bishoujo/  
  
"Hey, Schuldich?"  
  
/Yes, Bishoujo?/  
  
"Why am I here? You're a telepath, you could just read their minds..."  
  
/I can't do everything at once. That's what you're for. Besides, you   
can get us hard copies of documents./  
  
Ranma nodded thoughtfully, "I guess that makes sense. I still feel   
useless."  
  
The equivalent of a mental shrug danced through his mind. /Then figure   
this an... evaluation period, Bishoujo. See if you like the way we do   
things./  
  
Silence, Ranma stared up at the boring ceiling again, and the   
telepath's presence-- excluding a small connection that Ranma could   
activated should he want to talk to Schuldich-- left his mind. Blue   
eyes stared through the darkness at nothing.  
  
A pair of violet eyes gazed along the same path to nothingness, as they   
had since Ranma opened his mouth the first time. So Schuldich had a   
telepathic connection with Ranko?  
  
This bore watching.  
  
  
End  
  
[1] Neither did I. Ended up spending three hours watching TLC's   
Egyptian documentaries. There is some really interesting stuff on those   
shows. 


	8. Hajime

I have some pretty sick readers.  
  
Glad to have you aboard ^-^V  
  
Now, this is where most people would write which couple is at the head   
of the "race". I won't do that. I never do that. You'll just have to   
wait and see as to the couples that come out. If it's the couple you   
favor, kudos to you. If not... better luck next time.  
  
I don't like Akane, but I don't really want to have all the flamers on   
my ass, so I just made her a semi-bitch. She's still conceited though.   
  
I am aware Aya is OOC here. He's aware of it too, and it's confusing   
him. ^-^V  
  
Oh, yeah: Hajime means 'begin fight' in karate.  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Seven: Hajime  
Li Xiang  
  
  
The trail of broken underbrush and shreds of cotton cloth caught by   
said brush ended abruptly at the base of a large tree. Gouges in the   
bark were testament to exactly where the perpetrator had gone.  
  
Jei frowned, staring up into the branches where, only a few short   
minutes ago, a bird had screamed its death to the world. Apparently,   
Kitty had been hungry.  
  
The boy's frown turned into a scowl as he fit his own fingers into the   
ripped up bark, hauling himself up. Just as he was crawling up onto a   
branch to find his Kitty, a blur shot through the leaves. It slammed   
into his chest, knocking him from the branch to the ground.  
  
The golden-eyed youth failed to make the connection between something--  
or someone-- landing on him, and what should have, but wasn't, pain   
upon impact with the ground. Shoving the younger boy off of him via   
thrusting his hand into the other's face, Jei's hand came back slick   
with crimson wetness.  
  
"Christ..." as much as the boy had a fascination with blood, he wasn't   
in the mood to deal with his mother freaking on him over it. With a   
sigh, he moved to wipe the blood off on a leaf.  
  
However, a certain "neko-fied" eight year old had other ideas, and   
caught Jei's hand between his teeth.  
  
"Kitty. Let go," gold eyes flashed irritably, "I've gotta wipe the   
blood off."  
  
Kitty refused, instead brushing his tongue across the part of Jei's   
hand in his mouth, lapping at the blood.  
  
---  
  
Ranma awoke to the taste of blood tingling on the tip of his tongue. It   
was his own-- he'd tasted the sharp, metallic tang many times over the   
years. He'd also tasted the, slightly different, tangs of others' blood   
as well: his father's, from a sucker punch when his father's knuckles   
had been split; Ryouga's from biting through the skin, during junior   
high, when the larger boy had grabbed him in a full nelson; and, of   
course, Jei-sama's, eight years earlier.  
  
He-- no wait, she-- pushed herself into lotus from her futon. It had   
been quite sometime since he'd awoken, peacefully, in female form. It   
would be longer still until he could assume his natural form for the   
majority of his time.  
  
After approximately three minutes worth of meditation, Ranma began to   
get antsy. He'd been taught to meditate, years and years ago, to   
control his then, periodic and out of control rages, as well as his   
--at times-- all-encompassing fears of nothing. His father hadn't   
liked the idea of mediation all that much, and had attacked him every   
time he tried to do so. Then again, that right there might have been   
the part of the problem of his rages.  
  
And then, there was Nerima, where he was being attacked, night and day.   
No time to rest, let alone be able to mediate. Not yet having been   
interrupted was making her nervous.  
  
The dawn's light was filtering in through the window shade, splashing   
across her temporary roommate. Today, they would finish clearing out   
the spare room. It had been used to hold various items, including, of   
all things, three broken crossbows, seven yards worth of monofilament   
wire, and eighteen separate soccer balls. There were other things in   
there-- some nearly destroyed clothing that had been tossed in there   
instead of being thrown out, the odd book, a couple sets of weights and   
other such items.  
  
They'd removed a good deal of it the other day, but not enough for   
Ranma to have slept in there. Once they finished cleaning out the room,   
Ranma would be able to move the futon out of Aya's room, and into the   
spare. Of course, Ranma would be required to work for the Koneko while   
she stayed-- it was one of Aya's stipulations to letting her live with   
them.  
  
Finally sighing in disgust, Ranma flipped from full lotus to her feet   
in a rather amazing, if pointless, feat of flexibility. She had   
admitted to herself that it was unlikely that she'd be able to calm her   
mind enough to get into the state of mind needed to reach her center,   
and settled for pulling her red Chinese shirt on over the undershirt   
she'd worn the day before.  
  
"I need more clothing," she grumbled half-heartedly, taking a tentative   
sniff of her shirt. It smelt like sweat, and, while Ranma had little to   
no feminine modesty, her mother had pounded into her head that women   
and body order did not mix.   
  
She pulled the dragon whisker from her hair, grasping it in her teeth   
as she ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to comb it out,   
before giving it up as hopeless. The hair had tangled in her sleep, the   
pigtail having not been tied as tight as it normally was. The whisker   
came from between her teeth to knit around her fingers as she padded   
out of Aya's room in search of a brush.   
  
Not all that long later, Ranma was seated on the kitchen counter,   
munching on the last of an orange she'd liberated from the cupboards,   
while attempting the apparently impossible. She was trying to french   
braid her hair. She couldn't remember who had shown her the picture,   
only that it was an effective way to keep her hair from falling loose   
of the low pigtail at the nape of her neck.   
  
"Dammit, why can't I do this!?"  
  
"A mirror might help," came Omi's voice, and Ranma's gaze flickered   
over to him for a moment, before turning to stare at the counter beside   
her, "Look. I'm sorry about yesterday. I... guess I didn't really think   
about how you might feel about me badmouthing your friends."  
  
"You can badmouth them all you want, because I don't have friends. I   
have people who want to kill me, people who want to marry me, and   
people who like me, but will probably want to kill me at some point in   
time," was the sharp retort, and Ranma focused inwards on herself to   
attempt the braid again. Omi sighed, walking over to her. Ranma shifted   
so she wouldn't have to look at the older boy-- this had been the   
reaction Omi had been aiming for, snagging the ruby red strands of hair   
from her fingers, and began to knit them into the style she'd been   
attempting by herself. Ranma's back stiffened in anger.  
  
"Relax, Ranko. I've done this before," he blushed slightly, remembering   
how Ouka had tricked him into french braiding ninety percent of her   
friends' hair, "It's not as hard as you think, but it helps to have a   
mirror, if you're doing it for yourself."  
  
When Omi tied the braid off the with dragon's whisker-- it was the only   
thing to tie hair with near by, seeing as all Yohji's hair ties were in   
his room-- he dropped the braid to smack lightly against the back of   
the girl's neck. She turned to face the blue eyed boy with a tight   
smile, "I... well... thank you... for helping me..." as he started to   
smile, her expression turned rather icy, "But that doesn't mean I've   
forgotten that you tried to keep me and Jei-sama apart. I don't bother   
you, I expect you to not bother me, got it?"  
  
"I... yes, I understand," Omi ran through a list of curses in his mind.   
He'd been hoping that being nice to her would make her stop being quite   
so cold to him. As such, he'd gotten up earlier than usual to start   
clearing out the spare room for her.   
  
And that would be his escape now, from the chilling eyes focused on   
him, "Ah... I'm going to go finish cleaning out the spare room."  
  
"You do that."   
  
The assassin fled the room, and the martial artist pursed her lips,   
leaning back against the cabinets over the counter she was still seated   
on. Crossing her arms beneath her breasts-- still, even after two years,   
it felt funny to have that weight seated on her limbs-- she gave an   
irritated sigh. Ranma focused her icy gaze at the floor, and felt the   
tension being drawn out of her. She could honestly understand that Omi   
was trying to get her forgiveness.  
  
The problem was, that he'd hit on one of the few things that Ranma did   
not forgive. Jei-sama. Just as he'd broken some of the "given" rules of   
his life in Nerima by hitting Nabiki for her thoughtless jest of Jei a   
mere week ago, he would break a few more and not forgive Omi nor Yohji   
for their attempts to... "rescue" her.  
  
She didn't know how long, exactly she'd been sitting there, only coming   
around to realize time had passed when someone cleared their throat.   
Aya stood in front of her, staring her down with a mixture of   
curiosity and annoyance.   
  
"Get down."  
  
Ranma smirked at the older man, "Hmmm... no."  
  
The violet eyed assassin's lips thinned, eyes narrowing sharply at the   
refusal, "Get off the counter, Ranko." He was being unusually nice to   
her, he noted to himself with a bit of detached amusement in his own   
mental voice. Why?  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
The redheaded man gave her a flat stare, and she responded with a   
cheeky grin. Their staring contest was held for five or so more minutes   
before the violet eyed one's hands lashed out to catch Ranko by her   
waist and haul her bodily off the counter. She gave a short, laughing   
shriek as fingers came in contact with the ticklish skin of her   
stomach-- one of the things she absolutely hated about her female form.   
She was undeniably ticklish.  
  
"Dammit, Aya! Put me down!"  
  
Aya's lips twitched, and he uncharacteristically carried her over to   
the table to drop her in a seat, "Sit here, not on the counters."  
  
In the doorway of the kitchen, Ken and Omi stared wide-eyed at the   
pair, before exchanging a set of shocked looks. That was not something   
they had expected to see.  
  
---  
  
Noon. Lunch.  
  
Ranma's stomach growled, and she set the latest set of plants she'd   
been ordered to carry around on a counter, and bounded across the store   
to give Ken a set of pleading, puppy-dog eyes. It was a technique she'd   
perfected, specifically for getting food out of unsuspecting teenage   
males.  
  
Ken, being one of said unsuspecting teenage males, turned to her and   
got a full face of the cute-as-a-button-puppy-dog-eyes glittering at   
him. It was almost worse than the group of fangirls that normally   
surrounded him-- that were absent this lunch hour, something he was   
thankful of. Many of the near-by schools had started regulating who got   
to go on and off campus during lunch hours, considering how many girls   
left the grounds to storm the Koneko no Sumi Ie.  
  
"Keeeeen, I'm hungry."  
  
He winced at the petulant tone in her voice-- he could understand why   
she wasn't bothering Aya again: he wouldn't have taken to well to her   
whining, "There's nothing I can do about that, Ranko."  
  
"But I'm hungry," she forced a bit more of a whine into her speech,   
"and I want something to eat..."  
  
"There is a coffee shop across the street, Ranko."  
  
The whine and the look vanished, "Oh for... I want real food, baka."  
  
"Ask Aya."  
  
"He's bus--"  
  
"Ranko!"  
  
The redheaded teenaged girl sighed, and gave Ken a small wave,   
resolving to figure out exactly how Ken was immune to her puppy-dog   
eyes. She turned towards the counter, where Aya was standing, hand   
lightly resting on the edge, "You bellowed?"  
  
"You can go out and find food," the pointed look he gave her told her   
quite clearly that she needed to lower the decibels the next time she   
whined about being hungry, "after you deliver these."  
  
Three blood red roses were arranged with a set of shockingly purple   
toned blue bells, wrapped in a shimmery paper. It rested on the counter   
where Aya had, obviously, put it together. She picked it up, rather   
delicately, and gave her "boss" an odd look.  
  
"Delivery? Me? Aya, I haven't even been here for twenty-four hours!"  
  
"Yohji, Ken and myself are busy with other things. This is the   
address," the sheet was passed to her. Ranko shook her head, looking   
down at the sheet. That was practically on the other side of the   
district!  
  
"And I can get lunch after I deliver these?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Her lips quirked, and she sketched a small bow before shucking off the   
apron she'd been forced into that morning. Then, she was gone, vanished   
out the door with a speed the assassin had only ever seen in Schuldich,   
before. Yohji stepped out from behind a display of plants, "I'm going   
to follow her, Aya. Make sure she's not going to get into any trouble."  
  
"Aa."  
  
---  
  
"A restaurant?" Ranma scratched the back of her head with the hand not   
occupied holding the bouquet. She'd been expecting a house, or an   
apartment, or, hells, even the hospital. Not a restaurant. Shrugging to   
herself, she prepared to enter when a voice caught her attention.  
  
"Would you calm down?" Attention caught, Ranma turned to face it, and   
found herself ducking into the alcove made by the door. One of the few   
people she'd rather not see was standing not to far away-- Akane, his   
fiancee. She was wearing a rather tasteful blue dress, not one he'd   
seen before. Not that it mattered, Ranma couldn't really care less   
about the girl now: he had Jei-sama back, after all.  
  
With her as an uncomfortable looking Daisuke; Hiroshi wasn't around,   
and Daisuke was actually dressed up nicely. Daisuke was the one to   
speak, "I'm sorry Akane-chan, it's just... with you being engaged to   
Ranma..."  
  
"Who cares about the pervert?" the short haired girl snorted, "Daisuke,   
look at me. It's been three years!"  
  
"Three and a half."  
  
"And you still doubt me?" Akane shook her head, "Never mind. Where are   
you taking me?"  
  
Daisuke made a motion to the restaurant that Ranma was using to hide   
herself, "Welcome to the Royal Dragon, Akane," he blushed a bit, "I   
made an order to get you flowers... but they're not here yet."  
  
"Flowers?" a sweet smile crossed her lips and she hugged the boy tight,   
"I bet they're just beautiful."  
  
"Personally," Ranma called, "I'm not one for roses and blue bells."  
  
Both boy and girl froze as Ranma sauntered out of the shadows, smirking   
and carrying the bouquet. She bowed, handing them to Akane, "Consider   
this a gift. The engagement is off, Tendou."  
  
The girl in blue flushed a deep crimson suddenly, "But... I thought...   
you said... and the wedding...!"  
  
The redhead flicked the metal tag hanging from the leather collar   
around her neck, but said nothing, leaving Tendou Akane stuttering on   
the sidewalk; pride wounded. With a shrug, she turned on her heel and   
knit her fingers behind her head, humming some song she'd heard on an   
anime. With the engagement to Akane off, maybe Ryouga would stop being   
such an ass?  
  
A bare block later, that thought was derailed by a familiar, and not   
all that unwelcomed shout, "RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!"  
  
---  
  
Yohji cursed. He hadn't been close enough when following her to hear   
what she'd said to the couple outside the restaurant, but he'd doubted   
anyone in Tokyo had missed the large boy's shout. Although... why was   
he calling her 'Ranma'? Omi had said that was her brother's name. Maybe   
he got them messed up?   
  
Yohji, of course, had never actually seen a picture of Ranma.  
  
---  
  
As the dust began to settle from the lost boy's entrance-- bakusei   
tenketsu had been used on the ground in front of Ranma-- the street was   
quickly vacated. Just because they were no longer in Nerima did not   
mean people didn't know when something bad was going to happen.  
  
Tokyo just had that aura after all. Although, usually in the weirder   
districts, like Nerima, or Juuban.   
  
"Hey Ryouga, long time no see."  
  
Ranma was standing, perfectly balanced as always, atop the railing that   
separated street from sidewalk. There were a few tears in her shirt and   
pants from flying debris, but no actual injuries to herself. She'd been   
through the attack enough times that it didn't really hurt her anymore.   
Her opponent shot her a dark glare, opening his mouth to say something,   
before the realization sunk in.  
  
"You're dry."  
  
Ranma blinked. That wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Ryouga   
was supposed to get angry and attack her for no good reason, and they'd   
fight, cause some mass property damage, maybe hurt someone (hopefully,   
Ryouga himself) in the process, before Ryouga got lost and vowed to get   
his revenge on some later date, all the while calling Ranma a coward.  
  
Ryouga was not supposed to comment on whether or not Ranma was wet or   
dry.  
  
"... yeah, so?"  
  
"And you're female."  
  
Was that what this was about? "Again: Yeah, so?"  
  
A nasty little smirk crossed his rival's face, "Are you... trapped?"  
  
The redhead rolled her eyes, "No. Yes. Maybe?"  
  
"..." Ryouga gave her a look, and Ranma held up her hands, opening her   
mouth to respond defensively. Fortunately for the near by businesses,   
who would have been destroyed in the fight which would have resulted   
from Ranma's response, someone who hadn't vacated the premises,   
responded for her.  
  
Unfortunately for him, he dug himself deeper into the hole he was   
already in.  
  
"Hey Ranko, who's your friend?"  
  
Her eye twitched, and she gave Yohji a dour look, before growling,   
"Kudou. Were you following me?"  
  
The brunette suddenly seemed to remember that 'Ranko' didn't like him   
all that much. Or at all, for that matter. He tried his 'lady-charmer'   
grin, "Oh, come on, Ranko! Schwartz is still after you and--"  
  
"Schwartz?" Ryouga interrupted, turning an rather interested gaze on   
Ranma, "My bastard of an uncle's bodyguards?"  
  
This time, both Yohji and Ranma gave the lost boy an odd look, and he   
blushed brightly, "I... shouldn't have said that."  
  
"Why's that?" Ranma shuddered, she and Yohji were speaking in tandem,   
now. She'd rather that they didn't. In fact, she'd rather that Yohji   
would just go away, or better yet, incite a fight between her and   
Ryouga and get caught in the middle. Therefore, he'd get grievously   
injured, locked up in his room, and she wouldn't have to see him!   
  
It was a wonderful plan. Now, just how to pull it off...?  
  
Ryouga scratched the back of his head, "Reiji-- that's my uncle-- cast   
my mother out of the clan when she married my father. If dad hadn't   
taught mom his family's style of martial arts, she would have been dead   
on my uncle's orders."  
  
"Man, Ryouga, your family's more fucked up than mine," the redhead   
announced. She held her breath, hoping that the line would send Ryouga   
off into one of his rages. A spark of anger lit in his eyes, but it   
wasn't enough. Not yet, at least...  
  
"Shut up... 'Ranko'," the name was sneered, and Yohji gave the pair an   
odd look as Ranma flushed brightly, and Ryouga gave a triumphant smirk,   
"Schwartz has tried to kill off my whole family under Reiji's orders,   
even me. That one eyed freak with the--" Ryouga promptly found himself   
on his ass, staring up into the enraged eyes of one gender-bending   
martial artist, who was straddling his chest.  
  
"Don't you ever, _ever_, call Jei-sama a freak again," she hissed, the   
white of pure, raw ki flickering over her fingers, almost hesitantly   
leaping forwards to curl into small, pearl claws, before returning to a   
pure energy form.  
  
Ryouga's eyes lit with the oh-so-familiar look of rage, hurtling Ranma   
off of him, "I should have known you'd be in with a _freak_ like him!"  
  
Ranma gave him less than a second before she was pounding into him,   
fists flying at ameguriken speeds, hissing and spitting as her mind   
gave into the Cat.  
  
  
End 


	9. Perspective

As I've told my ever lovely pre-readers (hihi ^-^V), the trigger for   
the Cat to take FULL control, was his ailurophobia. Ranma never   
actually left the Cat mindset back when miss therapist got a hold of   
him. Any extreme emotion will set Ranma off into the Cat's control--   
s'why he doesn't seem to get all that worked up about people saying   
they want to kill him; he's been raised not to hit that peak.   
  
Most of this was typed up in one sitting. Took me a whole week to   
write this (started almost immediately after I finished writing   
chapter seven. Which I started immediately after writing chapter six.)   
I'm not to sure if it's any good, and I know Ranma is way OOC. Oh   
well. Things are a bit more light hearted in chapter nine. (Half done,   
already)  
  
This was seventeen pages on loose leaf-- ten typed, before formatting.   
I wonder how many it is now?  
  
  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Eight: Perspective  
Li Xiang  
  
  
"Oh Shit."  
  
Ryouga held one arm in front of his face, using the other to bat the   
insane girl off him. The Cat yowled in protest and pain as she was   
slammed into a wall from the force of the Lost Boy's throw.  
  
"...the hell? What's wrong with Ranko?"  
  
Ryouga flicked his eyes in Yohji's direction before dropping into a   
stance in preparation of another attack. It was not long in coming as   
a blur of red launched itself at him. The Cat was met with a vicious   
punch, just barely twisting out of the path without getting hit.  
  
Ryouga had expected this. He'd shifted his weight onto his back leg,   
snapping out with a brutal front kick. And, just to be on the safe   
side, as he snapped his foot back, he twisted sideways, stacking his   
hips, and slammed an equally powerful sidekick into Ranma's ribs.  
  
The Cat responded with a slash of her claws that had Ryouga himself   
howling in pain. The claws of pure, raw ki tore through his clothing   
to bite into his skin. Blood pooled along the paper-cut thin   
lacerations. He stumbled back as the pain hit, but kept enough   
presence of mind to slam his fist out-- hitting Ranma in the side of   
the head.  
  
She hit the ground on all fours, shaking her head out, in an attempt   
to dispel the dizzying pain lancing through her skull. Ryouga   
recovered first-- after all, he only had a few cuts and slashes on his   
arms, compared to Ranma's having a fist impact against her skull-- his   
hands glowing with the sickly green of depression chi.   
  
His face contorted into a grimace of heartrending sadness and   
depression. The glowing ball in his hands grew as he simultaneously   
fed his depression off the chi's power, and sent his increasing   
depression into the ball. It became over powering, to the point where,   
some eight feet away, Yohji could feel the depression washing over   
him.  
  
His hand flew to his watch, preparing to take the male martial artist   
out with his wire, should things get more out of control. Even if he   
and Ranko weren't exactly the best of friends-- or friends, at all--   
he couldn't just let her die...  
  
"SHI SHI HOKOUDAN!"  
  
The assassin's jaw dropped as the green energy tore itself from   
Ryouga's palms to slam ever so painfully into The Cat as she shot   
herself forwards for another attack. Ranma gave a yowl of pure,   
unadulterated pain that tapered into nothing. There were a few   
minutes of silence as the dust around the wall she'd been shot through   
settled. Ryouga didn't relax, but there was a tired slouch to his   
shoulders.  
  
"What..."  
  
"Shi Shi Hokoudan," Ryouga started, breath coming in harsh gasps,   
blood steadily trickling from the wounds that decorated his arms.   
Yohji's hand fell away from his watch, "is my... chi technique. Ran...   
ko has one, too."  
  
"But she didn't use hers! Why did you--"  
  
"Nekoken," came the growl from the rubble. Ranko dragged herself out,   
bleeding from a long gash that ran from her left temple into her hair.   
She'd been knocked out for nearly two whole minutes-- enough time for   
her to wrest the majority of the control of her body back from The   
Cat, "and that was a cheap shot, P-chan!"  
  
"Don't call me P-chan!" Ryouga yanking his umbrella from his pack, and   
charging haphazardly in Ranko's direction punctuated his shout. The   
fiery stinging across his chest slowed him, but Ranko, too, was   
slowed-- by the headache that raged across her forehead, singing in   
her temples. Although, even as the blood dribbled down her cheek from   
her wound, the headache was swiftly vanishing.  
  
"RANMA! Don't tease Ryouga!"  
  
It looked like Akane had recovered from the shock that, No, Ranma did   
_not_ love her. Honestly, after Ranma had shown up, she'd continued to   
date Daisuke-- or any boy that asked her, really-- to make Ranma   
jealous. To force him into marrying her in a fit of jealousy.  
  
Who wouldn't want a body like Ranma-kun's to play with? And Ranma-chan   
would have made for some serious experimenting fun. And now...? Ranma   
didn't care that she was dating someone else? He wasn't getting   
jealous, and breaking up the date?  
  
It made her so angry! And then...! To see Ranma making fun of Ryouga,   
when the Lost boy was so obviously hurt! (She was ignoring the wound   
Ranma herself had was bleeding profusely) She'd known Ranma was   
callous from the innumerable times he'd tormented Ryouga before... but   
this went to far!  
  
Mallet-sama was summoned, and the youngest of the Tendou daughters ran   
forwards, even as Ryouga himself charged.  
  
Yohji still stood to one side, jaw almost to the ground, wire   
forgotten. Weapons from thin air? Pure energy blasts?   
  
It was no wonder Schwartz was after Ranko! If she had lived through   
this before-- as things seemed to be pointing out... if she was   
capable of doing these things herself...  
  
Ranko jumped out of Akane's reach, flipping over the Lot Boy's head in   
the process. Said Lost Boy continued to charge forwards and through   
the rubble, screaming, "Ranma! Get back here you coward!"  
  
Ranko shook her head with a laugh, "Lost again..."  
  
"I told you not to tease him, hentai!"  
  
Ranko's eye twitched, "I don't have to listen to you, Kawaiikune   
Otemba!"  
  
"Ranma!" the girl charged again, preparing to knock the redhead into   
the stratosphere-- when said redhead grabbed Mallet-sama. The mallet's   
head shattered, sending wood bits in all directions as Ranko put more   
pressure on it.  
  
"Go back to your date, Tendou. Daisuke probably wants to know why you   
ran off."  
  
Stunned from the fact that Ranma had not only caught, but _Destroyed_   
her mallet, Akane could only nod weakly. She shuffled back to the   
restaurant, repeating under her breath, "He caught it. He destroyed   
it. He caught it. He..."  
  
"Anou... Ranko?"  
  
Blue eyes turned to him, darkening with irritation, "What?"  
  
Yohji didn't bother to ask about the fight. He'd figure it out later,   
he decided. Instead, he grinned. He couldn't help it-- Ranko's shirt   
had all but been destroyed while fighting Ryouga. She looked down,   
following his gaze, and hissed angrily.   
  
She looked up, "You got a credit card, Kudou?"  
  
---  
  
"Omi, where's Yohji?"  
  
The teenager reigned in the urge to choke the older girl. This was the   
eighth time that she had asked, in this hour alone! When he'd returned   
from school, he'd found both Yohji and Ranko gone. Ken had told him   
that Yohji had followed Ranko on a delivery, around noon.  
  
It was six o'clock, and neither of them is back.  
  
"Why am _I_ holding the bags?" Oh wait, yes, they are.  
  
Most of the store looked up as Yohji followed Ranko in. She wasn't   
wearing the Chinese style clothing she'd left in. Instead, she had on   
a pair of black denim jeans, and a red t-shirt. Both fit much more   
snugly than her other clothing had. She had a black and red track   
jacket thrown over top.  
  
Yohji, on the other hand, looked pained, carrying three bags. Most of   
them are variations on the black pants, red top theme, although Yohji   
had convinced her to by other things, as well. How the man did this,   
is not to be known.  
  
"You're the guy, you carry the bags," Oh, she was just loving this, it   
was like getting revenge on Akane, who'd made him carry her bags when   
they'd gone shopping, "Besides. I don't like you."  
  
"Nice reason," the longhaired male grumbled.  
  
Ranko stopped in front of the counter, "Sorry about being late, Aya.   
Kudou made me get more than one set of clothing," she shrugged, "mine   
were destroyed in a fight."  
  
Aya glowered at her, and she smiled brightly, "Don't take so long next   
time."  
  
While the majority of the shop gaped in shock, Ranko nodded with a   
grin. The redheaded girl walked into the back, Yohji following   
grumpily.  
  
One of the girls turned to give Aya a dark look, "Why does _she_ get   
to go back there, Aya?"  
  
The violet eyed one looked down at the teenage girl, "She works here,   
Sakura."  
  
"Since when?!"  
  
"Since yesterday," Sakura shrieked at the sudden appearance of Ranko   
behind her. She hadn't even seen the older girl come out! A shiver ran   
down her spine. The last time she'd seen someone got that fast... she   
shook it off as the female redhead padded off to water the plants,   
wearing Yohji's apron. The twenty one year old came out a moment   
later, not looking all that happy. Although, he had at least managed   
to get out of working, since he doesn't have an apron.  
  
"She's creepy, Aya. Why is she working here?"  
  
Aya didn't answer Sakura, merely returning to his own duties in the   
shop. All the while keeping an eye on the other redhead.   
  
---  
  
"Hey Bishoujo."  
  
Ranma looked up with a scowl that quickly turned into a smile,   
"Jei-sama!"  
  
"Kitty," the Irishman was frowning, "You gave Abyssian the sword." It   
was not a question. It was a statement.  
  
A panicked look entered the girl's eyes, which darted over to   
Schuldich's face. The flame haired man smirked at her, before she   
looked back to Farfello, bowing her head, "M'sorry Jei-sama."  
  
"Why?"  
  
She blushed, "I was hungry..."  
  
Schuldich gave both of them an odd look. Farfello was nodding like it   
was a perfectly acceptable reason, and Ranma radiated relief. The pale   
haired man grabbed Ranma's wrist, as he had done the night before, and   
began tugging her away from the Koneko no Sumi Ie.  
  
"I have to be back tonight."  
  
Farfello paused, "Why? You're mine!"  
  
Ranma nodded, "I know, Jei-sama. I'm staying, though."  
  
"Why's that, Bishoujo?"  
  
Ranma shot Schuldich a sour look, before turning back to Farfello,   
"You do not understand Abyssian, ne?"  
  
"What's that got to do with anything?" Farfello was doing that creepy   
grown man pouting, again. He'd really been hoping that Ranma would   
come with him to destroy God's happiness. To watch the streets become   
washed in blood.  
  
He wanted to watch Kitty drink that blood, once more.  
  
"I'm figuring him out," Ranma grinned, "He's an odd one, Jei-sama."  
  
"Vengeance-driven," Schuldich proclaimed, "What else is there to   
know?"  
  
Farfello frowned-- he often wondered that himself, when he   
contemplated Fujimiya "Aya" Ran. Whatever the reason, Abyssian, while   
confused him, also fascinates him. It seemed odd that Kitty had picked   
this up already. They had seen each other no more than three times   
these last few days.  
  
"So what are we doing now, Jei-sama?"  
  
Farfello returned him attention to the girl who's wrist he held, "Turn   
you back to normal."  
  
"And after that?" Schuldich didn't know why Farfello had asked him to   
come along. While it would be fun to torment Kitty, if he was going to   
be doing that all night, it might get boring. Farfello tossed the   
redheads a nasty grin.  
  
"We hunt."  
  
Ranma's eyes gleamed, a matching grin fluttering across her face. She   
had the apron off and draped over the counter in an instant, "Let's   
get going, then!"  
  
---  
  
A trio of shadows perched at the edge of the roof, eyes alight for any   
motion. Their target lay below, waiting for a bus. The three men   
grinned, moonlight and streetlights making white teeth flash.  
  
/C'mon, Bishoujo. Your turn./  
  
/My target, then?/ without waiting for a response to his question, the   
dark haired teen dropped off the roof, with aloof confidence. His feet   
made no sound as she landed lightly, standing in a single smooth   
motion from the deep knee bend.  
  
Black jeans, loose, held up with a black leather belt, and a slightly   
oversized black t-shirt that clung to him. His black hair was woven   
into a French braid, pulling the hair away from his face. While it   
would have looked odd on any other man, this teen's effeminate   
features made it look rather natural.  
  
Stormy blue eyes glinted as he glided across the ground to the   
thirty-some man at the bus stop. Raking his fingers through his bangs,   
he grinned, "Excuse me, ah Sir?"  
  
The man turned to him blinked, "What do you want?"  
  
Ranma-- for that was who it was-- scratched beneath his braid, "I was   
wondering when the next bus comes."  
  
The man gave him a suspicious look, before checking his watch, "Ten   
minutes."  
  
"Oh, good," the ebon haired boy purred, "I've got enough time."  
  
"Time to what?" the man had to admit he was curious as to what the   
athletic looking boy wanted to do. Ranma's lips curled with a twisted   
smirk that made a chill race down his spine, and stepped back in fear.  
  
Ranma's posture shifted from 'lazy teenager' to 'deadly predator', as   
he padded around the thirty year old with measured steps. An   
unconcerned visage greeted the now visibly shivering man, "You have   
ten minutes. Should you live that long... I'll let you go free. I   
doubt you will."  
  
"Wha... what do y-you mean?" came the stutter, and Ranma dragged his   
fingers down his back. The man shot off in terror, almost flying down   
the street.  
  
/Aren't you going to go after him, Bishoujo?/  
  
/In a moment, Schuldich. It's not as fun if you don't give them a head   
start./  
  
Schuldich smirked, as Ranma seemed to vanish. He could still "see"   
Ranma, via the boy's thoughts, but otherwise, the boy no longer   
existed.  
  
"One of the Forbidden techniques," he mused allowed to Farfello, as   
they stood. The redheaded man brushed a stray of hair out his face   
before motion to the Irishman, "I know where he is."  
  
"Follow him!" the lunatic snapped, "I want to see Kitty hunt!"  
  
The flamed haired one chuckled.  
  
---  
  
"One more minute."  
  
The purr seemed to come from all about Shidou Yoshida. There was no   
source as he spun about in the small splash of light on the street.   
  
He thought he'd be safer in the light. The insane boy wouldn't risk   
being seen, would he? To kill him in the light, at the edge of a busy   
road...  
  
... that wasn't so busy. Yoshida realized, with a sick twist in his   
stomach, that he'd been herded into a residential area. There was no   
one about so late at night.  
  
"Do you think the light will save you?"  
  
He spun, but there was still no sign of the madman. A split second of   
movement seen from the corner of his eye had him spinning to the left.   
Nothing.   
  
"Thirty seconds, Dear Sir."  
  
He stumbled back as the boy seemed to melt out of the _light_. It lit   
his face with stark orangish-white light, darkening his hair and   
clothes past the color of pitch black on a moonless night. Blue eyes   
glinted from the shadow of his fringe of bangs.  
  
And in one hand, he gripped a katana that shone in the night.  
  
He bounced on the balls of his feet, before lunging forwards, blade   
brought to bare.  
  
Yoshida stumbled back, praying to God to save his life. The blade   
nicked his raised arms, but little else.  
  
"Twenty Seconds."  
  
The blade flashed again, and once more did little more than slash   
across crossed arms, "Thank you, God," he whimpered.  
  
Ranma's eyes hardened, "God will leave you in the end. Five seconds."  
  
The blade did not miss. Not this time. The Saotome Family honor blade   
took a life, once more, for the first time in over a decade. It seemed   
to sing with the taste of blood as it sliced across the man's throat.  
  
"It's too bad," the boy sighed dramatically, "I was actually thinking   
of letting you go. And with only five seconds left... oh well."  
  
He knelt by the man who lay dying; drowning in his own blood. Fingers   
brushed across the wound before he placed his whole palm on it, "Good   
bye."  
  
His ki flared.  
  
---  
  
Farfello was darting forwards as soon as the energy had dissipated.   
There was nothing left of the man aside from piece of a charred suit.   
Ranma was calmly licking the blood from his hand. His blue eyes caught   
Jei's amber.  
  
"It didn't work."  
  
"What didn't work, Bishoujo?" since Farfello seemed more interested in   
looping his arms around the younger boy's waist, and burying his face   
in Ranma's neck, Schuldich asked. The ebony haired boy gave a purr,   
lifting the still slightly bloody palm to run it across Jei's face.  
  
Ranma looked at the jade-eyed telepath, "Hinako-sensei's happo go   
ensatsu. I think I over did it." Schuldich's hiked eyebrow made him   
explain, "It's a chi-draining technique, to replenish your own stores.   
Hinako-sensei uses it to get her adult body... I know the chi and ki   
patterns to do it, I've just never bothered to try..."  
  
"And you failed?"  
  
"Over did it," another purr, that ended as Farfello drew away from his   
pet, "Not suppose ta dissolve the body, just drain it."  
  
"You'll figure it out," Jei stated with a smug smile, "Did good   
tonight, Kitty."  
  
"Thank-you, Jei-sama."  
  
---  
  
The shadow slipped into the Koneko no Sumi Ie, tip toeing its way   
through the plants, drifting towards the door that lead to the living   
quarters. It's hand landed on the knob, twisting it silently, as the   
shadow crept inside.  
  
It turned, closing the door slowly, quietly. A soft click gave notice   
to the door's shutting-- and a light snapped on. Ranko froze, before   
turning.  
  
Aya was leaning against the wall beside the lights fixing her with a   
cold stare. She gave a weak smile, scratching at her neck, just above   
where Farfello had nuzzled-- and bit-- her. Dried blood decorated the   
skin, "Oh, uh, hey Aya."  
  
"You took off."  
  
"Saw some friends. Went with them to have some fun."  
  
Aya's violet eyes narrowed, "'Fun'? You've got blood on your face."   
Ranko's fingers darted to her cheeks, rubbing the splatters of   
Yoshida's dried blood off, "You were with Farfello, then."  
  
Ranko shrugged, "Yeah, so I was. What of it?"  
  
Aya frowned, already icy eyes turning cold as death. He said nothing   
in response, instead, turning on his heel. He stalked back towards his   
room. Ranko's stomach clenched and she followed the other redhead   
meekly. She didn't really know just _why_ she felt like this, but she   
didn't bother to analyze her feelings.  
  
"Your room isn't completely cleared out, the bed is still covered in   
junk, however, the floor is cleared. You can sleep there."  
  
"If it's all the same to you..." Ranko's lips quirked at Aya's back,   
"... can I stay in your room again, tonight?"  
  
Aya said nothing, but left the door open behind him.  
  
  
End 


	10. Compromises

There is a reason for everything. This series is planned-- not the   
minor details or anything, but there are so other tidbits that lead   
into each other.   
  
For those of you who can guess who the redhead is... you get to be   
mentioned in my fic. If you got a website, that'll get mentioned too--   
and you can post False Identity on it, if you want.   
  
You can find a picture of Ranma/Kitty here:   
http://icetemple.tripod.com/kitty01.JPG  
(it sucks, but then, it's not finished yet :P)  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Nine: Compromises  
Li Xiang  
  
  
The sun beat down on them, drying their damp, nude bodies. The older   
boy was on his back, at the edge of the water, his soaking clothing   
drying on a rock beside him.  
  
The younger boy lay on his stomach, back bared to the failing light of   
the sun, crimson lacerations decorating his skin from head to toe. The   
blood splatters from recently pulled scabs decorated his back in   
twisting, dappled patterns. His black hair fluttered around his face,   
an image of contented stillness.  
  
The younger was purring, the older's fingers knit through his ebon   
hair.  
  
The pale haired youth shook his head, removing his hand and standing.   
Stretching, Jei glanced at the molten orb setting over the trees. With   
a heavy sigh, he ambled over to his still rather wet clothing, casting   
a longing look back at the near by river. He and Kitty had spent the   
majority of the afternoon either in, or near the water.  
  
Kitty slit an eye open, peering up at the pale form of his 'care   
giver'. The other boy had already tugged on his pants, and was   
attempting to shake out the water that remained in the cloth.  
  
"We've gotta go back home," the amber eyed eleven year old picked up   
the clothing he'd bought for Kitty, "Time to get dressed."  
  
---  
  
Nagi hiked an eyebrow as Schuldich and Farfello only just barely   
managed to drag themselves into the kitchen, without falling asleep.   
The normally psychotic Irishman didn't even look aware of the knives   
on the counter, set out specifically so he could amuse himself. He   
almost passed out when he reached the table.  
  
Schuldich was attempting to pour himself some coffee.  
  
"What happened to you two?" Nagi was honestly curious-- he'd seen   
those two come back from all-night missions, where they hadn't   
bothered to get sleep the day prior, and not look even an eighth as   
tired.  
  
"They spent the night running around Tokyo with Saotome," the fifteen   
year old turned as Crawford entered the Kitchen, "They took out a   
number of Estet's targets for fun."  
  
"Trying to sleep..." came Farfello's growl. He didn't bother to lift   
his head form where it rested on the table. Schuldich, now nursing his   
coffee, was sprawled on the ground in front of the coffee pot.  
  
Crawford smirked, "I had to drag them both out of bed this morning."  
  
---  
  
Not as far away from Schwartz as they'd like, Omi and Yohji were being   
treated to the rather unusual-- even for her-- sight of Ranko sleeping   
through burning her hand on the stove filaments. Eyes shut, a light   
snore rumbling out of her open mouth, one hand on the still hot   
surface of the stove, the other on the counter. Ken stumbled into the   
kitchen a moment later, merely to gap in astonishment with the other   
two.  
  
Yohji snapped out of it first, and darted to her side to shake the   
poor girl awake. Unfortunately, things didn't exactly turn out the way   
he thought they would.  
  
Still asleep, Ranko's arm lifted from the stove to slam a fist into   
the older man's sternum. He gave a choked gasp, stumbling back, but   
the sleeping girl moved no further.   
  
"I wonder what got her so tired."  
  
Omi gave the long haired man an odd look, "What do you mean, Yohji?"  
  
"_You_ weren't there when she tore into Ryouga or Tendou Akane, _then_   
_dragged_ me all over Tokyo, because we couldn't find a store selling   
Chinese clothing!"  
  
"She was out most of the night," to the shock of the other boys, Aya   
trudged into the kitchen, half asleep, wearing nothing more than a   
pair of deep red boxers. From more than three feet away, the man   
appeared to be of smooth, white marble.  
  
Closer, and it was possible to see the network of pale violet blade   
scars, and the stark, circular shape of long healed bullet wounds. It   
was something of Aya the rest of Weiss had never seen...  
  
He just barely covered a yawn. Following that, as he passed Ranko, he   
smacked her upside the head.  
  
She blinked her eyes open then stared around herself as though she   
didn't know where she was. It took a few seconds for her brain to   
start, but when it did, recognition washed across her face, "Morning."  
  
"Ah... morning, Ranko," Omi smiled at her, but she merely responded   
with a slightly irritated look. She still didn't really want to talk   
to him.  
  
"Hey, Ranko?" Ken cocked his head to one side, "What happened to your   
neck?" A couple of Band-Aids were stuck between the junction of neck   
and shoulder.  
  
"It was bleeding."  
  
"How do you get hurt there...?" Yohji smirked, "Or is it a hickie?"  
  
It was Aya who responded, seeing as all Ranko was content with doing   
was giving the tall man a rather vicious death glare. It was the   
equivalent of 'I want to you burn in the farthest reaches of hell,   
before I dump you in Siberia to freeze to death'.  
  
"It's a bite mark, Yohji. She returned last night with it still   
bleeding."  
  
Ranko shot an unreadable look in Aya's direction. He hadn't mentioned   
it when she'd returned only a few short hours earlier, and she hadn't   
thought he'd noticed it. Shaking her head, she smirked, "Maybe you   
should get dressed, Aya."  
  
The other redhead nodded, but only moved to sit at the table, and   
nurse a cup of coffee. Rank gave a snort of amusement, before   
attempting to riffle through the cupboards.  
  
She fell asleep halfway through the second one.  
  
---  
  
The ever thoughtful Omi had given Ranko and Aya the day off. They   
spent a good four hours in Aya's room catching up on their sleep.   
After that-- and Aya's failure to death glare Omi into letting them   
work, once the boy returned from school at noon-- they finished   
cleaning out Ranko's new room. Now, at one in the afternoon, the two   
redheads lay in the room, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"I'm bored."  
  
Surprisingly, it was Aya who had announced this. Ranko mumbled an   
agreement, but did nothing more. Neither did Aya, for that matter. It   
was almost ten minutes later when Ranko rolled over to peer at Aya   
from the edge of the bed.  
  
"Any idea of something to do?"  
  
The violet eyed man had his fingers knit behind his head. He'd usually   
busy himself with work in the flower shop, or reading-- but he'd made   
a vow to watch Ranko. If she was in contact with Schuldich, they had   
to be careful. He shook his head 'no', and Ranko slid off the bed   
until she was bent at the waist, pressing her forehead against the   
floor, "There's nothing to do? At all?"  
  
With no answer, Ranko shoved herself fully off the bed and into a   
roll. Her legs smacked Aya across the chest, and he shot her an icy   
glare. An unrepentant smirk adorned her features.  
  
"Get off me."  
  
"Hmmm..." Ranko looked thoughtful for a second, as though she was   
actually considering it, "... no."  
  
Aya let a smirk cross his face, and Ranko gave him a suspicious look.   
She hadn't really seen him smirk before: the normal stoic face, or the   
odd smile, or his dark scowl, but never a smirk, "I guess I'll just   
have to make you get off."  
  
He shifted, lunging for her sides, remember her ticklishness from the   
day prior.   
  
Ranko squirmed, batting at Aya's hands, but he didn't stop. In fact,   
he just tried harder; he hadn't had this much fun since Aya-chan was   
hospitalized. That sober his thoughts and actions for a second, and he   
paused.  
  
In that moment of stillness, Ranko slammed her heel into his stomach.   
Aya froze, then his eyes narrowed, "This, he declared, all thoughts of   
his younger sister banished to the back of his mind, "means war."  
  
With a quick shove, Aya had Ranko sprawled on her back, on the floor,   
and he was pushing himself to his feet. Blue eyes danced as Ranko   
grinned up at him, "You mean to take me one?"  
  
She rolled into his legs, knocking him back to the ground, a smirk of   
triumph on her face. Bouncing up into a crouch, she lunged, pinning   
the dazed male to the ground. Aya hooked his leg around hers yanking   
her down on top of him.  
  
She landed sprawled across his chest, but he ignored her position,   
instead twisting his wrists out of her loosened grasp, and throwing   
her off. The two redheads came to their feet on opposite sides of the   
room, hair and clothing mused, panting hard.  
  
Omi chose that moment to throw open the door. In that split second,   
Ranko and Aya shared the same thought-- thank god her hadn't arrived a   
moment earlier.  
  
"Is everything alright in here?"  
  
Ranko grinned, still breathing hard. Normally, she wouldn't have been   
this winded, not through such a short 'work out', but Aya had been   
tickling her. Aya just gave Omi an irritated look.  
  
"Everything is fine, Tsukiyono. Peachy keen, and boring."  
  
"It sounded, "Omi stressed the word, "like you two were fighting." An   
unlikely possibility, he knew-- Aya seemed to like the other redhead   
and Ranko was usually only talking to him. Sometimes she and Ken would   
chat, but she avoided Yohji and himself like the plague.  
  
"Oh, we were," the girl was still rather cheerful. Omi could have   
sworn Aya had snickered. Aya, in reality, trying rather hard not to   
laugh out loud at Omi's face. He took pity on the boy and explained.  
  
"We were bored."  
  
Alright, so it wasn't the greatest of explanations. Omi gave them both   
an incredulous look that swiftly darkened to annoyance.  
  
---  
  
Schuldich entered the coffee shop, lured by an unusual sulkiness come   
from a familiar mind. Aya was slouched in a chair, facing the door. He   
was swirling a spoon in an empty bowl and watching whoever was across   
from him. The jade-eyed assassin let his mind brush against the   
companion's, and blinked.  
  
Either there were two minds of that unique mixture of animal and human   
or that was--  
  
"Bishoujo, and Fujimiya!" Ranma spun to face Schuldich, and Aya   
focused a dark glare on the black assassin, "Are you two on a date?"  
  
Aya's glare intensified, and Ranma made a face. Schuldich smirked in   
response -- and that got him a spoonful of ice-cream in his face.   
Ranma stuck the spoon in her mouth again, grinning in triumph. Aya   
rolled his eyes at the display of childishness.  
  
"For your information, Oh Guilty One," Aya had to snicker at Ranma's   
overly dramatic tone of voice, "We got kicked out of the Koneko by   
Tsukiyono."  
  
Schuldich hiked an eyebrow. He would have just gone through Aya's mind   
to find out what was up, but he didn't really want to be on the   
receiving end of any of the Forbidden Techniques. Ranma was getting   
awfully protective of the swordsman-- almost as much as he was of   
Farfello. The feeling came across, even through the confusing melee of   
human and feline thought patterns. Schuldich prided himself in   
understand them enough to get through Ranma's mind, relatively well.  
  
"We got into a fight," the blue eyed redhead smirked, "and frightened   
some of the customers away."  
  
"Why do I find that hard to believe?"  
  
Ranma shrugged, sending the redhead a smug grin. Aya resisted the urge   
to repeatedly bang his head against the table. The girl he was   
supposed to be protecting from Schwartz was chatting amicably with one   
of their most dangerous members.  
  
He was starting to get the feeling that Schwartz wasn't after her to   
kill her, as Omi and his contacted believed.  
  
/If I were to kill her, Abyssian, Farfello would kill me./  
  
He started, glowering at the telepathic redhead, before pausing. Ranko   
had him in a headlock-- it looked really silly. The taller German held   
in place by a petite Japanese girl. Schuldich actually looked like he   
was struggling.  
  
"Bishoujo!" he was laughing, but he also looked to be in pain. Aya let   
himself enjoy the sight for a few moments. He then turned to the girl,   
hiking an eyebrow.  
  
Ranko let go, sinking back into her chair, "For your information,   
Schuldich, it was _not_ a 'lover's quarrel'. We were bored."  
  
The jade-eyed man chuckled, shaking his head, "Damn, Kitty, do you   
always pick fights when bored?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Both Aya and Schuldich looked at her in surprise. The fact that she   
had answered honestly wasn't it-- she usually spoke her mind, without   
lying. It was the lazy smirk, and the fact that she didn't look   
disturbed by what she had just announced.  
  
Aya frowned, She'd fight right into Schwartz.  
  
/She's quite the actor, but she wouldn't fit in./  
  
He cast the other man a sharp look, /What...?/  
  
/She is a fighter, not a killer. He will kill./  
  
Ranko frowned, "Are you two talking mentally? I feel left out."  
  
Shucking off the confusion of the Schwartz assassin's statement, Aya   
turned his attention back to Ranko, "Let's go."  
  
Ranko hopped to her feet, pushing Schuldich out of the way as she did   
so, "Where we goin' Aya?"  
  
The man rose from his own seat, and shrugged. Ranko tapped her finger   
against her chin, a thoughtful look crossing her face. This was   
disrupted by Schuldich's arm draping across her shoulders.  
  
"I know a place where we can go," he offered, "I won't even mind if   
you tag along, Fujimiya."  
  
Aya shot him a glare that was close to the wort the violet eyed man   
had ever given Takatori Reiji. Schuldich shrugged it off, steering the   
girl out of the coffee shop. The Weiss boy followed, almost sulkily.  
  
---  
  
If it had been one redhead, it probably wouldn't have been noticed.   
The fact that there were three of them brought the attention to them.   
  
Schuldich had dragged Ranko with him to where he had originally been   
destined, before "running into" her-- one of the parks just on the   
edge of Juuban. Aya had trailed after the pair as though he was a   
chaperone for their date. He felt just as uncomfortable in this   
situation as he would then-- although not because he was topped the   
"couple" from making out. He just felt like a third wheel.  
  
This, of course, was quickly and efficiently remedied by Ranko. She'd   
shoved Schuldich in the park's man-made lake, grabbed Aya's arm and   
ran like a bat out of hell. It didn't take long for the flame haired   
man to catch up, what with his speed. He'd retaliated in kind, and   
when Aya had attempted to pull Ranko out of the water, shoved the   
other man in from behind.  
  
After that, it turned into an all out water fight. They'd team up for   
a few moments to shove one or the other into the water, before turning   
on each other. The trio of soaking redheads-- with Schuldich's mocking   
laughter, Ranko's rather decent impression of Kodachi, and Aya's   
whispery low chuckle-- had the attention of ninety nine percent of   
everyone gathered within the park.  
  
Not all that far away, watching with amusement clear in her jade eyes,   
was another redhead. She leaned against a thick, sturdy tree, with a   
wistful smile crossing her features for a second. And then it, just   
like the eighteen year old who'd borne it, vanished, as though neither   
had ever been. No one had truly noted her presence.  
  
Ranko glanced in that direction, however. She got the fleeting   
impression that they'd just missed something important. Then Aya   
grabbed her ankle, Knocking her back into the water with a tremendous   
splash.  
  
---  
  
Still soaking wet, but now shivering instead of laughing, two of the   
three redheads trudged through the district. They were headed back   
towards the Koneko, where both currently lived. They were quiet as   
they moved-- Ranko reflecting on the fun of the day; something that   
was ever so rare back when she'd lived in Nerima.  
  
Aya, on the other hand, was trying to understand how he had _fun_ with   
one of his _enemies_. Not to mention how just being around Ranko made   
him act like Ran, for the first time in years. The girl confused him.  
  
"Hey, Aya?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Ranko turned to face him, fingers knit behind her head, "You gonna   
tell your friends 'bout this afternoon?"  
  
"Will you tell them?"  
  
She blinked, then gave an awkward shrug, "I doubt they'd believe me."  
  
Aya nodded at that-- hell, he'd been the one participating, and he   
didn't believe it. He'd gone so far as to review all his thoughts,   
leading up to the afternoon, but could find no evidence of tampering.   
Schuldich hadn't forced him to do anything, directly. He restrained a   
sigh, and tilted his head back to look up at the sky.  
  
"You confused?"  
  
"Yeah," he said no more. He didn't want to explain himself. The way   
he'd acted today-- the way _Schuldich_ had acted, for that matter-- it   
contradicted his world. Ran could live without Aya-chan, he knew that   
now. Schwartz-- or at least Schuldich-- wasn't as bad as he'd   
believed. As krititer had lead him to believe.  
  
This, he decided, needed to be thought upon.  
  
---  
  
"Well?"  
  
Schuldich dropped himself into the chair, "You knew I'd run into them,   
if I went, didn't you?"  
  
Crawford gave a quiet chuckled, and that was all the answer he needed.   
He might not be capable of reading his leader's mind, but he'd learned   
to read his actions. He was good at that.  
  
Schuldich closed his eyes with a smirk. Fujimiya, even if he didn't   
realize it yet, was beginning to trust him. Quite the interesting   
development.  
  
Crawford, too, was smirking. But his reasons were far more different.  
  
---  
  
Aya grit his teeth. Farfello stood outside the Koneko, amber eyes   
fixated on the wet redhead beside him. Just who he did not want to   
see.  
  
"Jei-sama!" his companion, on the other hand, tore across the   
remaining distance in a flying tackle hug. Both men-- Aya and   
Farfello-- froze for a second in shock. Flying tackle hugs were far   
from commonplace here, not to mention ones aimed at Farfello.  
  
The pale haired young man recovered first, coiling his own arms around   
Ranko's waist. He nuzzled her neck before releasing her, "Come play   
with me."  
  
"Sure I just gotta--"  
  
"Not tonight," Aya's growl cut through Ranko's mental "fog", and Jei's   
lips curled back in a snarl. Aya did not back down from the looks he   
was receiving, "You're not going anywhere tonight."  
  
"Who says?" Jei's hands landed possessively on Ranko's shoulders,   
"Kitty's mine!"  
  
The violet eyed assassin bit his tongue from lashing out. First,   
because they did not need a fight out here, to scare off the   
customers. And second, because he knew damn well why Ranko would not   
talk to Omi, and cursed Yohji out to anyone who'd listen. Instead, he   
stalked up to the other man, "Don't you have a mission tonight,   
Schwartz?"  
  
Schuldich had accidentally let it slip that Schwartz had a mission   
that night. It was his reason for stopping the water fight in the   
first place. Farfello should have known that.  
  
It was Aya's turn to be faced with the look that was quickly being   
dubbed the "Creepy Pout" by Ranma, "Kitty will be coming with me,   
Weiss."  
  
The girl in question sighed, throwing up her hands, "Jei-sama wants me   
to go, Aya doesn't, and Schuldich has socked me to the bone. Decide,   
or I beat the ever living shit out of _BOTH_ of you."  
  
They gave her startled looks. Especially Jei-- his Kitty would   
actually try to hurt him? What was Weiss doing to him? Aya frowned,   
and gave Farfello a dark glare.  
  
"She stays here. I won't send her on any of Weiss' missions, you don't   
send her on any of Schwartz. Deal?"  
  
Jei looked like he wanted to object, but an evil little smile crossed   
his face, "Deal. _She_ does not do missions, at all. _He_ will work   
for Schwartz."  
  
Aya blinked. That was the second time. What did they mean, Ranko   
'she', and Ranko 'he'? There was only one Ranko!  
  
Said Ranko was grinning widely. Although she couldn't fight alongside   
her Jei-sama, Ranma could. He'd be ready to go in--  
  
She sneezed.  
  
Okay, so he wouldn't be fighting, tonight. She rubbed her nose, and   
sneezed again. Ranko turned to pout at Aya. Jei was treated to the   
surprising sight of Aya capitulating to Ranko's unspoken wishes. They   
disappeared into the shop.  
  
How... interesting.  
  
End 


	11. Pawns

There is a reason this chapter ends like this. There is only one   
person who knows WHY it ends like this (Hey Averry :P). And yes, it   
does have relevance to the story ^-^V *snickers wildly*  
  
In other news, I've got a new fic. It's called "Shiva". It's final   
fantasy eight. It's only on Fanfiction.net. And it's only being   
updated about every three weeks. False Identity will still be coming   
out every week.   
  
Oh, yeah, my website's up and running properly, again.   
Http://www.crosswinds.net/~li_xiang, for those of you who haven't   
followed the link from my fanfiction.net account. The StoryTeller   
needs updating. I'll get there... eventually.  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Ten: Pawns  
Li Xiang  
  
  
It was a three-man mission. Aya had bailed, due to Ranko's sudden   
cold. It was the first time ever, but it wasn't all that important of   
a mission anyway. Just some old politician who was wanted dead.  
  
The redhead had a feeling that this would end up as an Schwartz/Weiss   
battle. Again.  
  
---  
  
They had met, and they had fought just as Aya had predicted they   
would. And, while it was not unusual for someone to return injured   
from battle, it was unusual for only two of three to return.  
  
Omi and Yohji stumbled into the Koneko, blood dribbling from wounds,   
and soaking poorly crafted makeshift bandages. Yohji held his hand   
over the left side of his face, glimpses of dark-red blood stained   
skin between his fingers.  
  
Omi, too, was bleeding, his white hood soaked with blood, he looked   
unable to do anything but drag himself to a chair.  
  
Aya had waited for his partners to return, first aid kit in hand. He'd   
had a feeling it would be needed. Ranko was sleeping upstairs-- in her   
own room, this time.  
  
"What happened?" Omi looked like he could handle the wounds a bit   
longer-- Yohji was about to collapse. In fact, the eldest of them   
collapsed into a chair as Aya tugged his hands away from his face. It   
wasn't really something he was used doing for other people, but   
neither looked capable of caring for themselves.  
  
"Schwartz," Omi muttered the obvious, "Farfello and Crawford double   
teamed Yohji. Schuldich was on Ken, and Nagi, me."  
  
Aya-- ever calm, ever cool, unless dealing with screaming fangirls--   
winced. Farfello had tagged Yohji pretty bad. It looked like the   
Irishman had tried to gouge the lanky man's eye out. The slash had   
just barely missed Yohji's left eye, running at a diagonal from scalp   
to cheek bone. There was less than two millimeters between the edge of   
the cut and the outside corner of his eye.  
  
There was no doubt in Aya's mind. He'd seen enough blade wounds to   
_know_ Yohji's will scar. He also knew it would need stitches.  
  
"How bad...?"  
  
Aya had turned to pull the sewing needle and thread from the first aid   
kit, "You need stitches."  
  
The playboy gave a slight whine from the back of his throat, but sat   
still as Aya pressed a wet cloth to the wound. A faint whimper of pain   
from behind him had the redhead setting the needle down to check on   
Omi. Hopefully it would only take a few minutes, and he'd be able to   
get back to stitching up Yohji's face.  
  
The youngest of Weiss had shed both of his jackets-- the black   
crumpled across the floor, the white draped over the back of the   
chair. Aya could see what looked like knife wounds that matched the   
few throwing knives Omi had brought with him for the mission.  
  
The logical conclusion was that Nagi had caught the blades with his   
telekinesis-- and sent them back to the other hacker. All Omi needed   
was a few proper bandages; he wasn't all that bad off, considering   
he'd only had to fend off Naoe Nagi.  
  
Once the boy had been taken care of, about five minutes later. Aya   
turned back to the needle and thread he'd pulled out. Quickly   
threading the needle, Aya tugged the cloth from Yohji's face, "Hold   
still."  
  
The assassin closed his eyes with a bit of a whimper as the needle   
passed through the skin of his forehead.  
  
---  
  
Ranma paused at the top of the stairs. She'd heard two people enter   
the Koneko. She'd heard them stop and not move again. She'd heard   
slight whimpers of pain, and the statement of who was fighting whom.   
Then she'd smelt the blood.  
  
With the Cat's ability to use ki to heighten her senses, Ranma had   
been on 'full alert' since the water fight. Consciously activating   
said ability was a lot harder than letting the Cat do it   
unconsciously. She _really_ didn't want to have to force it again, so   
she hadn't bothered to "turn it off", so to speak.  
  
She drifted down the stairs, wondering just what she'd see.  
  
Aya putting away a needle and thread, Omi practically passed out in   
his chair, and Yohji staring blankly at the ceiling with one eye-- the   
other being closed as not to pull the skin beneath the stitches-- and   
Ken nowhere to be seen had not been what she'd expected.   
  
---  
  
Ken, at that moment, was slowly regaining consciousness.  
  
He found himself sprawled across a small bed, a thin sheet thrown over   
his body. His bugnuks and communication devices missing-- not to   
mention damn near all his clothing. He had his boxers and his t-shirt   
still on, but that was it. The wounds on his arms and legs had been   
bandaged.  
  
All of this was, of course, offset by the shackle around his right   
wrist, locking him to the bed with a chain of about five feet in   
length. A test of its strength revealed that it was unlikely he'd   
break it.  
  
He raked his mind, trying to remember how he'd gotten to this small   
bedroom/cell. He came up with a blank-- the last thing he could   
remember was fighting Schuldich. He'd knocked the older man back and   
went running to give Yohji a hand with Crawford and Farfello. He could   
remember a sharp spike of pain lancing through both skull and mind,   
and then... nothing.  
  
With no idea where he was, or how he'd gotten there, Ken was leery of   
trying the one thing that would get him free. It was one of the few   
things he had from his life prior to Weiss; also one of the things   
Kritiker did _not_ know about him. But he did not know what else to   
do.  
  
He relaxed his ever-present concentration. It had gotten to the point,   
over the years, that even during sleep or unconsciousness his mind to   
focused enough to control it. He was normally so focused on himself   
that he was clumsy in doing mundane, everyday things.  
  
Ken's wrist passed through the shackle, with no mark left behind. He   
also happened to sink about halfway through the bed before noticing.   
Shaking his head, the young man pulled himself free, snapping his   
iron-clad control back in place. The feeling of passing _through_   
objects had _always_ creeped him out.  
  
Shivering as the cold air brushed across his skin, he grabbed the   
sheet from the bed, wrapping it around himself. He was halfway to the   
room's door when it swung open.  
  
Schuldich stood there.  
  
He also happened to look a bit surprised at Ken's freedom, but quickly   
hid it. Ken growled at the sight of the black hunter.  
  
"I take it I'm Schwartz's prisoner, now?"  
  
"No," Schuldich said this with a maddening grin, "Crawford doesn't   
know I have you. You're _my_ prisoner."  
  
---  
  
Ranko _stared_ at Omi.  
  
"You don't know...? I thought he was one of your partners, Tsukiyono!"  
  
"He's my friend!"  
  
"Then how could you _not_ know where he is?" Aya's hand landed on her   
shoulder, and she shot him a dark look. She may not have any "real"   
friends, but she knew they were supposed to watch each other. Hell,   
she'd looked out for enemies and allies who were normally enemies back   
during her days in Nerima. The only one she did not know where he was   
on a regular basis was Ryouga-- and that was for a very good reason.   
  
Aya's look told her to shut up and sit down. She returned it with one   
that had 'I'm not doing this because you said to, I'm just not feeling   
well' stamped all across it.  
  
She gave an exaggerated cough just for good measure.  
  
Yohji had passed out in his chair-- which was expected, considering   
the blood he'd lost, the pain of the wound itself, on top of having to   
drag himself back to the Koneko in that state. Ranko dropped herself   
onto the arm of the chair Yohji was in, with a scowl.  
  
"Ranko."  
  
"Yeeeeees, Aya?"  
  
Aya paused for a moment, before firming his resolve. At this point, he   
didn't really care that she found out he knew, "Contact Schuldich."  
  
She blinked, "Eh? Why should I?"  
  
"Because," the older redhead snapped, "He was the one fighting Ken!"  
  
"Okay, Okay, no shouting necessary."  
  
/Schuldich,/ she reached out along the thin mental pathway that   
spanned the distance between their two minds and sing-songed, /Where   
are you?/  
  
There was a few minutes of silence followed by, /What is it, Bishoujo?   
I'm busy!/  
  
/Doing what?/  
  
/Stuff. What do you want?/  
  
Ranko snickered a bit, /Sooooo, you were fighting Ken?/  
  
/The weiss katzchen returned, did they?/  
  
/They did,/ Ranko smirked a bit. Of course, Aya shot her a look that   
clearly meant for her to get their answer, /Any ways, Aya's giving me   
evil looks... where is he?/  
  
Schuldich gave a snort of amusement, responding, /What makes you think   
_I_ know?/  
  
/I don't. Aya says you do./  
  
/Abyssian's a smart one, then,/ Schuldich started to withdraw from her   
mind.  
  
/You going to tell me where he is?/  
  
/Unlikely,/ and then, the jade-eyed assassin's presence in her mind   
was gone. Ranko returned her attention to the outside world.  
  
"He's got Ken."  
  
Omi's face paled, "Where? Where is he?"  
  
Ranko's look was pure disdain, "Riiiight. Even if Schuldich had told   
me, why would I tell _you_, Tsukiyono?"  
  
"Ranko."  
  
"Aya," she mimicked, "Like I said-- Schuldich didn't tell me where he   
is." Her face lit up even as she fended off a sneeze, and jumped to   
her feet, "Oh! I could go look for him!"  
  
"You can't! Schwartz will kill you!"  
  
Three guesses to who that was. Both Aya and Ranko ignored Omi's   
outburst. Violet and blue eyes were looked in a test of wills.   
Fujimiya spoke, not looking away, "You will not."  
  
"Dammit Abyssian!" the girl's eyes narrowed into slits, "Your word   
ain't law! Stop acting like you can dictate my life!"  
  
"You let Farfello do it."  
  
Ranko's eyes flared with anger, turning smoky-blue eyes into an ice   
hard navy blue, "That's different. I owe Jei-sama a hell of a lot more   
than I owe you."  
  
"Sit. Down."  
  
She sat before she even realized she was following Aya's orders. When   
she did, she made as though she was going to jump to her feet just to   
spite him. Something in his eyes, however, forced her to stay put.  
  
---  
  
Schuldich's gaze had wavered for a moment, and Ken dart for the door.   
Schuldich, however, was faster. He grabbed the back of Ken's shirt,   
tugging him backwards.  
  
Mentally, Ken cursed. He cursed the fact that he couldn't phase   
through living objects-- or at least, make whatever he was wearing   
phase through living objects, and he really didn't want to stand naked   
in front of the redhead.   
  
Schuldich was grinning at him, "Abyssian tried to force me to tell   
them where you are."  
  
"Gwah?" the soccer player looked confused, "But Aya doesn't..."  
  
"He got Bishoujo to do it," the redhead smirked at his captive, "not   
that it helped." He used Ken's shirt to drag the boy away from the   
door. He tossed the white hunter across the bed again, causing Ken to   
lose his breath on impact. The jade-eyed assassin followed a moment   
later, dropping onto the bed and propping himself up on his arms, over   
Ken's stunned form.  
  
"I wonder how long it will take him to figure it out..."  
  
Ken's mind snapped back into focus. He shifted to bring his hands up   
to shove the German away from him. Schuldich's response to both   
movement and thoughts was to drop his full weight on the younger man.   
Ken froze, and Schuldich smirked.  
  
"...After all... this afternoon wasn't _just_ for fun..."  
  
Ken was attempting to suffocate himself; he didn't even breath until   
Schuldich sat up. The redhead was frowning slightly; while the   
brunette let the German's words slide through his mind on auto repeat.  
  
"...Farfie should be happy once he lets Bishoujo go..."  
  
Who _was_ Schuldich talking about? Bishoujo had to be Ranko-- he   
doubted Aya would be willingly in contact with anyone else linked to   
Schuldich in any way at all. Still, he didn't know who this "he" was.   
  
"He" could be anyone, and none of Weiss would go near anyone from   
Schwartz without lethal intentions.  
  
---  
  
"Schuldich is playing mind games," Omi was pacing. After relocating   
rYohji to his room, the three currently awake housemates retreated to   
Weiss' mission room. The young brunette was halfway to panicked with   
the news that Schuldich has Ken, "He's always playing mind games."  
  
"No, he's not," Ranko snorted, leaning against the wall, "He wasn't   
when we ran into him this afternoon."  
  
"You... ran into him?"  
  
"Yeah," the girl rubbed her nose, "You didn't think Aya and I had gone   
running through park sprinklers on purpose did you? We got into a   
water fight with the Guilty One."  
  
Aya frowned, looking over at Omi, "Maybe he was..."  
  
Ranko hiked an eyebrow, "Care to explain that?"  
  
"He knows your abilities, correct?"  
  
"Yeah, so?" Ranko's blank look made Aya sigh in irritation, as Omi   
looked between the two of them, absolutely confused. It would take too   
long to explain to Omi of Schuldich and Ranko's connection. Aya,   
himself, wasn't completely aware of everything she was capable of   
doing, but he'd seen her move; he _knew_ she was an exception martial   
artist, he just didn't know _how_ exceptional.   
  
"If Schuldich orchestrated this, he probably left some sort of clue,   
specifically to torment us with trying to understand."  
  
Ranko frowned, scratching at the scar in back of her neck, "You mean   
he meant to run into us today?'  
  
Aya shook his head, "I'm not sure. Ranko, did he tell you anything?   
Like why he was going to the park in the first place?"  
  
"Nothing," the female redhead frowned slightly, "Although, he did   
smell funny; like he was nervous.  
  
Both active members of Weiss gave her a surprised look. Omi was the   
one who voiced their thoughts, "Smelt _nervous_? How could you smell   
_that_?"  
  
The look of disdain returned, "Jei-sama gave me the name 'Kitty' for a   
reason, Tsukiyono."  
  
"Oh," Omi's voice was quiet, until he lit up on what Ranko had said   
originally, "Nervous? Why would he be nervous?"  
  
"I'm not a telepath," the redhead snapped, "He was nervous, I smelt   
it," tipping her head to once side, she spoke thoughtfully,   
"Although... I sensed someone watching us. No one was there when I   
looked, but..."  
  
"It gives us something to work with," Omi gave a determined nod, "I'll   
look around the city plans to look for a place near the park, which   
one did--"  
  
"Juuban."  
  
---  
  
"Stop teasing him."  
  
The woman's voice came from the door, but Schuldich was in the way of   
Ken's view. Whoever it was, she sounded... amused.  
  
"Ah, but that's not fun," Schuldich returned in German. The woman   
laughed lightly, and spoke in German, as well.  
  
"Fun! He wants fun! Lord above, Schu, in ten years you haven't changed   
a mite!"  
  
The older man smirked, pulling away from Ken. He patted the   
nineteen-year-old on the head, giving him a patronizing grin, "Don't   
try to leave, liebe."  
  
"I told you to stop teasing him, Schuldich."  
  
"Aa, aa," as Schuldich moved away, Ken caught a glimpse of chin-length   
brownish red hair, and emerald eyes. But it was, after all, only a   
glimpse. Far from enough to be able to tell who it was.  
  
---  
  
The sun has risen four hours earlier. While it would not have been   
impossible for Omi, Aya and Ranko to work in the shop-- they had more   
important things to deal with.   
  
Omi was skimming the net, looking for info on Ken's whereabouts. Aya   
was in contact with Kritiker for the same reasons, and Ranko was   
playing nurse for Yohji.  
  
The two redheads had played jan ken pon and Ranko lost.  
  
Yohji was still out as Ranko checked the stitches. She wasn't the   
greatest choice for a doctor, or a nurse for that matter, but she knew   
enough. She had, after all, been in a number of "incidents" and had   
nearly everything possible done to her, before. She began to sing   
under her breath as she did so-- musing that it would probably have   
sounded better if she was male at the time.  
  
"Forfeit the game/Before somebody else   
Takes you out of the frame/Puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face/You can't run the race  
The pace is to fast/You just won't last  
  
"You loved the way I look at you  
While taking pleasure in the awful things you put me through  
You take away if I give in  
My life, My pride is broken..."  
  
"You're pretty good, Ranko."  
  
The redhead gave the man under her hands a decidedly dark look, "How   
long have you been awake?"  
  
"Since 'cover up your face'," he gave her a grin, and in return, she   
buried her fist in his stomach. It was amusing to see his eyes pop   
open, and an expression of pure agony flit across the wounded man's   
face.  
  
"Careful Kudou," she sing-songed, with a malicious grin, "You wouldn't   
want to pop your stitches, would you?"  
  
She stood, sashaying out of the room, singing to herself, but   
partially to Yohji,   
  
"If I/Turn my back I'm defenseless  
And to go blindly seems senseless  
If I hide my pride and let it all go on/Then they'll  
Take from me til everything is gone..."  
  
  
End  
  
The songs are "Points of Authority", and "By Myself", by Linkin Park 


	12. Conception

I've been off tormenting people with sticks. Well, actually, my brother   
almost broke my hand while waving his walking stick through the air   
like some type of battle staff. And while I'm pretty sure I could have   
taken it out bare handed, Devon wanted me to use a stick, too. I got to   
hold a hockey stick and pretend it was a glaive.  
  
We were also pretending I was a three foot tall dark faerie-chick, my   
brother, a three and a half foot tall half human sprite-guy, and Dev   
was a silver elf, who towered over bother of us.  
  
This is, apparently, what having a life is like. I think I prefer not   
having a life, and just writing stories.  
  
*clucks her tongue* Ah well, I have revealed who the redhead is. She   
is... *drumroll*... Rache! *snickers* Okay, okay, so that's just what   
Schu calls her. You have to read to find out who she really is.  
  
As for who figured it out... only Yanslana got it. *makes the readers   
clap for Yanslana*  
  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Eleven: Conception  
Li Xiang  
  
  
"Where is she?!"  
  
Sanzenshin Nobuyuki rolled his eyes, listening to his manager rant.   
Twirling one drumstick around his fingers, he was seriously considering   
whipping the other at him. It wasn't the first time their "prize" voice   
took off without telling their manager, Karuna Akira. It was just a   
habit of hers.  
  
"Lay off, Akira," Daniel Osborne-- "Oz" to everyone other than   
himself-- muttered in English, "She's probably off in China again."  
  
"Bzzzt!" the three males turned to the door where another young man   
stood, "Our dear Xue Shi has been spotted in Juuban."  
  
Akira's head snapped up at Chang Li Fei's words. He was on his feet and   
out the door before the other three could react. Oz hiked an eyebrow,   
"Who didn't see that one coming?"  
  
His companions chuckled, before following Akira.  
  
---  
  
"Did you know she can sing?"  
  
Aya, Omi and Yohji were seated int he mission room, discussing how to   
go about rescuing Ken. They'd narrowed his location down to four or   
five buildings, and planned to have Ranko use her sense to track the   
other teen down. At this moment, Ranko was making lunch.  
  
"Who? Ranko?" Omi was obviously tired, almost unable to keep his eyes   
open. Aya, despite _looking_ awake, projected an aura of almost passed   
out from fatigue. The redhead hadn't gotten much sleep over the past   
two days. Yohji nodded.  
  
"Yeah, Ranko. She's pretty good, even if she was mocking me."  
  
"I wasn't mocking you, Kudou," Ranko stepped from the stairwell, not   
bothering to muffle her footsteps. She held the same look-and-feel of   
Aya-- Although she'd gotten more sleep, her body was still fighting off   
the cold she'd caught, "Lunch is ready. It's not the greatest, but..."  
  
No other words were nessecary, and she turned on her heel to trudge   
upstairs. The boys followed silently, seating themselves at the table   
in the kitchen.  
  
As they ate, Aya gave them a blurry-eyed look, "Get some sleep. We'll   
go through the area tonight."  
  
"Hai!" the other three chimed, before returning to their meals in   
silence.  
  
---  
  
The sun was setting upon them as the boys drifted up the street. There   
was the odd stranger who nodded a greeting, but most of the   
recognizable faces shied away from them.  
  
Kitty paraded down the fence as though he was all that mattered in the   
world. His mane of black hair was tangled and fell loosely about his   
face, stormy cobalt eyes slitted almost closed, and head held high with   
pride. Despite this, there was a loop of rope about his neck, trailing   
to the hand of the pale haired one beside him.  
  
Jei's stride was far from the boastful, cocky one of his younger   
"friend". He moved with careful, precise steps. The Irish boy matched   
Kitty's speed, neither pulling ahead nor falling behind. A mischievous   
smile curved his lips.  
  
"Kitty, stop."  
  
The dark haired feral child ignored the command, and continued to walk.   
A low growl seeped from Jei's throat, before he snapped out an order,   
"Kitty! Stop!" and gave a sharp tug on the rope leash in his hand.  
  
A hiss escaped the eight year old's mouth, and he whirled to glare at   
Jei. The human mind, buried as it was, understood that he'd disobeyed   
Jei, and the golden-eyed youth was mad at him for it. The Cat, on the   
other hand, cared not for that; he cared for the fact that Jei had   
_dared_ to force him to do something.  
  
Kitty lunged.  
  
---  
  
A splash of icy water, complete with ice cubes, rained down on her   
head. Eyes snapping open, she managed a sputtering cough while sitting   
up. Yohji stood over her with the cup in hand. Ranko responded   
politely.  
  
"If you're not out of here in the next ten seconds, I will rip you limb   
from limb, gut you like a fish, and roast your entrails on a spit, then   
eat them before your very eyes."  
  
While Yohji didn't actually believe she'd go through with her threat,   
there was no reason to take chances. He darted from the room, dropping   
the cup in the process. She dropped back onto the western-style   
mattress, head sinking into her pillow.  
  
She would have remained content to stay there, laying on the plush bed,   
in the direct path of a large sunbeam, for the rest of eternity.   
Unfortunately for her, someone had decided on intruding.   
  
/Good evening, Bishoujo!/  
  
"I'm trying to sleep, you German psychopath."  
  
/Don't you want to rescue Hidaka?/ the mental smirk was almost over   
powering, /If you want to leave him with me, I won't mind.../  
  
"You going to tell me where he is?"  
  
/Now, now, Bishoujo, that wouldn't be any _fun_/  
  
Ranma snorted, "Lunatic." /How about a hint?/  
  
Schuldich considered for a moment, /No. Do it on your own, Kitty./  
  
Schuldich's presence left as Ranma drew herself up from the bed. A   
quick change into black jeans and a black shirt, along with an   
adjustment of the collar so the tag was centered, and she was out in   
the hall. Omi, Yohji and Aya stood at the top of the stairs, all in   
their "assassin gear". Yohji's shades managed to hide the fact that the   
stitches in his face came perilously close to his eye.  
  
---  
  
"Xue Shi! Xue Shi!" Akira had his hands cupped around his mouth,   
amplifying his shouts. He looked like an idiot.  
  
Oz, Fei, and Nobuyuki, while following him, were also attempting to   
look like they didn't know him. The man was such an embarrassment!  
  
"Luan-ma!"  
  
"Shut the hell up!" and there she was. Xue Shi melted out of the   
shadows, eyes glowing in the streetlight like some wild cat's. Her hair   
was pulled back in a simple ponytail, and she was dressed in black from   
head to toe, "Go away, Akira. I'm doing something."  
  
"Xue Shi!" Akira dashed forwards, and almost impaled himself on a   
wickedly sharp katana. A red haired man had appeared from the shadows   
behind her.  
  
"How many names do you _have_, Ranko?"  
  
"Lots," Xue Shi stated cooly, before turning back to Akira, "I'll   
contact you tomorrow. Right now, we're looking for someone."  
  
"Huh?" Nobuyuki stepped forwards, "We could help you!"  
  
"Doubtful," the man's icy violet eyes drifted over them, "Ranko, let's   
go." She nodded and the pair melted back into the darkness.   
  
Akira whimpered, "But... but you're supposed to record tonight..."  
  
---  
  
"So who..."  
  
"None of your business, Kudou."  
  
They fell silent, following Ranko as she paced the park Aya, Schuldich   
and herself had goofed around in the day prior. She came to a halt at   
the edge of the man-made lake. Yohji opened his mouth to speak, but she   
beat him to it, "Over there. By the trees."  
  
She left the boys behind, padding across the soft grass to peer at the   
tree. Oddly enough, there was an aura stamp on the tree-- a piece of   
someone's aura, to tell those who could sense them that _this_ belonged   
to them. Ranko had only just learned how to read them; she couldn't   
make her own just yet.  
  
Ranko didn't recognize the stamp, but the aura was similar to   
Schuldich's. An obvious clue to a skilled martial artist; all she had   
to do was find the matching stamp.  
  
---  
  
"...go away."  
  
Schuldich grinned at his captive, "Don't you want to know how your   
friends are doing?"  
  
Ken didn't even bother to lift his face from the pillow, "If Aya   
doesn't have his katana against your neck, I don't care." He'd tried   
his phase-ability four separate times over the past day. Schuldich kept   
catching him, however, so he'd ended up just not bothering.  
  
He felt the bed shift as Schuldich sat on the edge; still, he refrained   
from looking up. He did, however, tense as eh felt Schuldich pet his   
head and the back of his neck like he was some sort of house cat.  
  
"You do go by a cat's name, 'Siberian'"  
  
"Shut up and get out of my head."  
  
The redhead smirked at the back of Ken's head, "Whatever you say,   
liebe." He did note that Ken had failed to tell him to remove his hand.  
  
A giddy feeling bubbled in the pit of his stomach, the smirk fading   
into a goofy grin for a second. But only a second, as his face was   
quickly jerked back into his natural smirking expression.  
  
---  
  
This was the third building they'd checked. If Schuldich and Ken   
weren't here, there were still two more, although they were a good half   
hours run's from where they were. Weiss was getting tired, as was   
Ranko, and they _all_ knew that they were getting sloppy. Aya had   
accidentally kicked a can-- something that wouldn't have happened   
normally.  
  
The short "nap" after lunch had helped, but not enough. They were still   
falling asleep on their feet.  
  
"Got it!" Ranko crowed suddenly, startling the boys. She was grinning   
in a way that was frighteningly similar to Farfello's, with her hand   
resting on the building's wall, "Either they're here, or there's   
another clue in here."  
  
"Let's go," Omi gave a tired grin, "so we can go home and _sleep_!"  
  
"Amen to that," Yohji muttered, tilting his shades onto his head. Aya   
said nothing, only going around the side of the building to search for   
an entrance. Normally, they'd fall back and plan everything out   
carefully, but this was Ken. They had to get him away from Schuldich   
_now_. Not tomorrow.  
  
The other three followed Aya's lead, Omi being the one who eventually   
found an open entrance. They pulled themselves in through the window.  
  
Below, a redheaded girl looked to be asleep in a computer chair. The   
aura stamp was hers, Ranko noted absently, before sending her sense out   
to search for Ken.   
  
Schuldich's mental voice rang out, /Now, now, Bishoujo, you aren't   
about to cheat, are you?/  
  
Aya growled low in his throat, forcing Ranko to realize that the   
message had not been directed solely at her. In fact, it had been   
directed at everyone, as the flame haired girl below bounced to her   
feet.  
  
"They're here? Already?" they could hear her asking. He response was   
Schuldich stepping out of another room, and pointing up at them.  
  
Taking her cue, Ranko flipped off the second floor to land on all   
fours. It would not have been impossible for her to land standing, but   
she didn't want to bother with feeding ki into her legs to soften the   
landing.  
  
Aya followed her over the edge, while Yohji and Omi looked for a set of   
stairs. Four redheads stood in the warehouse-- two male, two female.   
The unknown woman wasn't all that tall, and was probably only eighteen.   
Her hair was chin-length, and eyes a sharp emerald. She wore a black   
dress and stockings, a pale baby blue knit duster over top.  
  
She muttered something to Schuldich in German, and he frowned. She   
repeated what she'd said, then moved to one side of the room. Aya's   
eyes were locked on Schuldich's but Ranko followed the girl curiously.  
  
"Why are you following me?"  
  
"Schuldich and Aya are glaring at each other," Ranko shrugged, "and I'm   
bored, and tired."  
  
She got an odd look in return, but no words. The two girls only stopped   
once they were fully hidden by the shadows. A third shadow reached out   
to grab Ranko; she started to struggle, but the flash of a single   
golden eye halted her, "Jei-sama?"  
  
"Will you come home, Kitty?"  
  
"I..." Ranma _wanted_ to stay with Jei and never have to see Yohji or   
Omi again. On the other hand, there was still the mysteries of Fujimiya   
to figure out, "...I want to, Jei-sama, but..."  
  
The other girl rolled her eyes at the melodrama, "You two are   
pathetic."  
  
Farfello's warning growl was accompanied by Ranma's annoyed hiss.  
  
Yohji and Omi had made it to the ground floor, and were backing Aya.   
This extra "incentive" made Schuldich falter for a moment-- he was   
confident of his abilities to fight two of them, but three skilled   
assassins? Highly unlikely.  
  
A mental call for help had Farfello and the girl running from their   
spots in the shadows. Jei had a knife in each hand, while the girl   
welded a wicked looking pole-arm; a two foot scimitar blade attacked to   
a three foot haft.   
  
Ranma padded out as well, but she stayed out of any direct lighting.   
Instead, she moved towards the door Schuldich had entered the main room   
through.  
  
---  
  
Ken's head jerked up as the sounds of a fight came through the door.   
Weiss was here! The thought raced through his mind, and relief washed   
over him. No more being Schuldich's prisoner!  
  
No more mind games.  
  
The soccer player's cheeks developed quite the flush as he recalled the   
nature of Schuldich's "mind games". He wished for his bugnuks in that   
moment-- simply to get rid of his embarrassment over the day with them.   
He hadn't expected them to drop into his lap. Looking up, Ranko stood   
in front of him.  
  
He'd never been so happy to see someone in his life-- he failed to   
realize what he was doing as he leapt off the bed to hug her. She'd   
seen the shackle around his wrist, however. She'd seen his arm pass   
through it.  
  
"How'd you do that?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
Ranko found it a _little_ annoying to have a taller, older boy wrapped   
around her neck, who was not standing on his own two feet. Glaring at   
him, she yanked his arms away from her neck, dropping him on the floor,   
"The thing with the chain! You went _through_ it!"  
  
Ken's face paled. He hadn't even realized-- merely reacted. He hadn't   
noticed the uncomfortable tingle as he phased through the shackle. His   
control was as strong as ever, that he knew, but the fact that he   
hadn't noticed the tiny lap... not good.  
  
"I... uh..." Ken scratched the back of his neck, "I... can I tell you   
later?"  
  
Ranko frowned, but conceded, "When we get back to the Koneko, you   
'splain what you just did. Now, let's go; I'm tired, and hungry."  
  
---  
  
They'd paired off-- Schuldich and Omi, Aya and Farfello, the girl and   
Yohji.  
  
While Aya and Farfello were well matched, and Schuldich and Omi hadn't   
had a victor yet, Yohji had taken on the girl with the long handled   
scimitar; and was winning. She obviously had not had much practice with   
the blade.  
  
He looped his wire around the haft as he ducked away from the swing.   
With a sharp tug, and a slight twist, the weapon was out of her hands   
and skittering across the floor. A flash of fear darted across her face   
as she fell into a not-exactly great "sparring stance". Her left leg   
was forwards, both knees bent, although her left leg wasn't as far   
forwards as it was in the "normal" stance. She wobbled for a second   
before firming her stance, glaring at Yohji.  
  
Lightly looping his wire around his fingers, Yohji gave his normal   
"play boy smirk." It didn't turn out the way he wanted it to, due to   
the stitches running from cheek to scalp. Her determined look did not   
waver for a second.  
  
Yohji took a few steps forwards to lash out with a light kick to test   
her skill. She managed to dodge out of the way, but held back from   
counter attacking. Loosing his wire, he sent it flying at her, and she,   
once again, just barely kept from harm's way.  
  
The next time he attacked, she didn't. The wire bit into her cheek and   
she gave a small yelp of pain. It was loud enough, however, for   
Schuldich to hear.  
  
With a quick trick, the German had Omi asleep on the floor, and had   
appeared between Yohji and the girl. Jade eyes narrowed with anger.  
  
"You alright, Rache[1]?"  
  
"Just a nick, Schu," she grumbled, "I don't need you protecting me all   
the time."  
  
Schu? Yohji only wondered on that for a second, before deciding that   
she was probably some whore he'd tricked into helping via a pretty   
face.  
  
Said "pretty face" was suddenly in _his_ face, "You ever call my sister   
a whore, even in the privacy of your own mind, again, and I'll make the   
rest of your admittedly _short_ existence a living _hell_!"  
  
"I'll help," Ranko's voice came from the left, and the trio whirled.   
She and Ken stood side-by-side, "But for now, you've lost oh Guilty   
One."  
  
"For now," he agreed, drawing back, "See you later, Bishoujo." A pair   
of glares were sent in Yohji's direction before the siblings flitted   
off into the night.  
  
Yohji padded over to where Omi lay, hefting the boy into the air,   
before turning to Aya. The redhead and Farfello stood across from one   
another, glaring, and panting heavily. Blood dripped from numerous cuts   
and abrasions dotting their skin.  
  
Ranko slipped past the standing males to snag Jei's arm, and drag him   
off. Her voice was cheerful as three shocked gazes watched her leave,   
"Bye Guys! I'll see you later!"  
  
Jei shot Aya a smug look before both vanished. Yohji blinked, then   
sighed, "Lets get home. Maybe we can figure out what happened, there."  
  
"Yeah," Ken agreed, puzzling over the strange day. Maybe he'd figure   
out what Schuldich thought he was doing.  
  
As the assassins left the warehouse, Yohji's voice was curious, "Ken?   
What happened top your clothes?"  
  
---  
  
Ten minute after they'd left, four people slipped back in-- three   
males, one female. Ranma had changed back to normal and was currently   
pacing the ground beside his master. Blue eyes sharp from years upon   
years of attacks, scanned the room-- although not for enemies. At   
least, not this time.  
  
"...like they'd buy it, Rache," Schuldich had his hands in his pockets,   
"They'll just think this is a ploy to kill them."  
  
"You're the one infatuated with Hidaka," Rache responded lightly, "Not   
me. I'm just trying to make my elder brother happy."  
  
"No you're not," Ranma smirked, and Jei continued, "You just want him   
to stop 'mothering' you, Naru." The pair snicked at the dark look on   
the telepath's face, and Rache had to giggle as well.  
  
"It's big," Jei gave Ranma a light, only slightly psychotic smile,   
"Lot's of room to play in." Over the days since meeting Kitty again,   
Jei had shown through Farfello's madness more and more. It was   
disturbing, however, to note that while Jei was _sane_, he shared much   
of Farfello's opinions, and grudges.  
  
Schuldich hadn't bothered to look in on the lunatic's splintered mind,   
but he figured if he did, there was only one conclusion. Jei and   
Farfello were becoming one person again. Things would prove much   
more... fun, when they did.  
  
"We'll have to purchase the building the way normal, law abiding   
citizens do," Rache stated, dropping back into her computer chair, "and   
it will take awhile to move all our things in here.  
  
"Why's do we have to pay for it, Naru? We could just get Nagi to   
_make_ it ours," Jei looped his arms around Ranma's waist, as they came   
to a halt, chin resting on the shorter teen's shoulder, "This place has   
to be expensive!"  
  
"Because," Rache rolled her eyes, "Crawford and Nagi are not to know   
about this place until we've completed the transition."   
  
"And you four can break away from Estet," Ranma concluded, "besides,  
it's not like it's that expensive."  
  
"You've never bought a warehouse before, have you, Bishoujo?" Schuldich   
hiked an eyebrow and dipped into Kitty's mind, to see exactly why the   
boy thought this way. With a note of surprise, he withdrew, "That's   
quite the sum of money you've got at your beak-and-call, _Sushi_."  
  
"_You_ are Sushi?" Rache blinked, "Wow. You're pretty good, Ranma."  
  
Ranma shrugged, "First, it's _Xue Shi_, as in chinese for bloodstone,   
_not_ 'Sushi'. And I had to earn money somehow. Nabiki takes a lot from   
me," and I still don't know how she gets it out of me, he grumped to   
himself, "In any case, Xue Shi can buy this place, and we can set it up   
over the next few days."  
  
"Can't," Jei muttered, "Takatori is returning from Hawaii with some   
friend, tomorrow. It's back to playing bodyguards for him."  
  
The female redhead made a face, "Then I guess it's just Ranma and me."  
  
Ranma shook his head, however, "I'm going with Jei-sama, Naru. I've   
been so bored lately! The only person who's shown up is Ryouga-- and   
P-chan gets lost to easily," Jei had growled int he back of his throat   
at Ryouga's nickname. The obsidian haired youth, however, failed to   
notice, "I get the feeling everything and everyone from Nerima is going   
to come crashing down on me, any minute now."  
  
Rache sighed, "I'm going to be all alone! We can't expect Weiss to help   
me move in!"  
  
Schuldich hiked an eyebrow, "Don't you have any friends?"  
  
Rache ran her fingers through chin-length red hair, "I haven't spoken   
to most of them in four years-- correction! _They_ haven't spoken to   
_me_!"  
  
"Want we should include them in the hunt, Naru?" a positively blood   
thirsty look danced across Saotome's face. Rache lifted a hand.  
  
"No. But keep that in mind."  
  
End  
  
  
[1] I am unsure if this is the right word. I read that it's German for   
"revenge". 


	13. Kunous

Rave - Kiss me if you want. I don't care. *grins*  
Katoru - Yes, Oz, as in the Oz played by Seth Green. I like Seth   
Green. Yes, it's the Wolfboy. This is actually a plot point. Take   
note of this, peoples.  
  
Anyways, with Spring Break having happened, I got a little behind on   
my writting. Not on Shiva, as for those of you who have read it know   
that I got two chapters up in only a couple days, when I said it   
would be two or three _weeks_ between updates. I'm a bad girl.  
  
But, Chapter Thirteen is half-way done. Jei meets Xian Phu. That's   
all I'm going to say.  
  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Twelve: Kunous  
Li Xiang  
  
  
  
Ranma crawled into her room via the window, cloaked in the Umisenken.   
They'd continued to make plans well into the night, up until Ranma   
had proclaimed he was about to drop dead on his feet, and returned to   
the Koneko no Sumi Ie. She'd left her credit card and pin number with   
Schuldich-- or actually, he'd plucked the numbers from his mind and   
gave them to Rache.  
  
With a tired sigh, she sunk down into her bed and fell asleep.  
  
---  
  
Shaking his head, the eight-year-old stood shakily. He then threw   
himself at the boards that held him in place. A brand new dog collar   
was tight around his throat, an old chain hooked to it. This chain   
was bound around a tree, and wooden boards had been set up to keep   
him trapped.   
  
Jei stood outside the boards, staring down at his pet. Bandages   
bounded his arms, while his clothing had small dark spots where blood   
had seeped through the fabric, "You've been bad, Kitty."  
  
The ebony-haired boy hissed at him and Jei frowned, "Until you   
behave, you're not leaving." He can remember his mother using this   
tactic on him.  
  
He'd gone an entire day, once, before apologizing for hurting his   
sister. Kitty would just have to learn what he was allowed to do, and   
what he was not, the same way Jei did.  
  
Nodding to himself, Jei turned, and walked away.  
  
---  
  
Ranko was jerked out of her sleep, eyes snapping open as she surged   
to her feet. There was nothing that should have awakened her in the   
room. Expanding her senses, she searched for a reason for being   
pulled from her sleep.  
  
Aya, Yohji, Omi and Ken were asleep in their rooms; obvious, first,   
from the lack of noise, and second, from what she could sense of   
their auras- they were stationary. For a split second, she thought of   
thanking Happosai for "training" her to sense his aura, just so she   
could avoid him. The moment passed swiftly, and she banished all   
thoughts of Happosai to the back of her mind where they were shot   
several hundred times.  
  
Slipping from her room, Ranko paced the floor, peering quietly into   
her housemates' rooms. There was nothing, nothing at all, that should   
have been enough to have woken her. Finding no solution to this   
problem, she padded back to her room, hissing softly in irritation.  
  
Entering her room, she froze.  
  
This was what had awakened her; and she knew that it was her fault   
for not checking outside her window. Eye twitching slightly, she   
pulled her shirt up and over her nose, before moving silently toward   
her "gift".  
  
The bouquet of black roses was promptly thrown out the window, while   
the redheaded young woman retreated from the room. She should have   
known Kodachi would know every flower shop in Tokyo; not to mention   
the fact that Kodachi, or her servants, would have recognized her.  
  
And with Ranma out of Nerima, with Akane, Ukyou and Xian Pu still   
there, Kodachi would automatically believe that "the red haired   
hussy"-who, considering she _was_ Ranma, would not be in the   
district, either-- was at fault. Who knew what other tricks the   
psychotic gymnast had left for her!  
  
Not even bothering to take a pillow or blanket, the redhead set off   
for the only other place in the Koneko that she knew she'd be able to   
sleep-- Aya's room.  
  
---  
  
Aya stirred, but did not wake as Ranko rose to her feet the next   
morning, six o'clock sharp. Drawing herself up, she slipped from his   
room, silent as any ghost. She has a mission.  
  
A mission that, admittedly, didn't actually _need_ the glass of ice   
water she'd procured. Still moving without sound, she slipped into   
Ken's room, glass behind her back.  
  
He was sprawled across his bed, having fallen asleep in the boxers   
and T-shirt he'd been wearing when Weiss had returned. A devious   
smile lit her lips as she leaned over, "Time to get up, Hidaka."  
  
Ken mumbled something about demons, then rolled over. Her smile   
turned into a full fledged 'as-evil-as-they-come' grin, "You've got   
ten seconds, Ken, then it's bath time."  
  
Still no movement. She counted down from ten, out loud, then tipped   
the glass over his head. Following this, she put her free hand across   
his mouth, to prevent any noise from escaping to alert the rest of   
Weiss. She didn't want them to barge in, and interrupt her "mission".  
  
Ken sat up, shoving her hand away, and attempted to get his wet hair   
out of his face. Once that was reasonably accomplished, Ken turned to   
face the one who'd awoken him.  
  
Ranko perched on the edge of his bed, with a strangely serious look   
on her face, "You gonna explain, now?"  
  
His sleepily confused look would have been cute, but Ranko ignored   
facts like that, having long practice in doing so. She blew a breath   
of air through her teeth in irritation, "Fuu. The chain thing,   
Hidaka. How'd you go through it?"  
  
"Uh... Ranko, could we talk about this later?" his voice dropped to   
such a level that even Ranko's Neko-ken-enhanced hearing had trouble   
making it out, "Preferably somewhere that isn't likely to be   
monitored by Kritiker."  
  
She blinked, "Are you tryin' ta get out of explainin' to me?"  
  
Yes. "I just... don't like people knowing." Well, that was true   
enough. Ken's sleep-fuddled mind stumbled onto something else, "Hey!   
I thought you'd left with Schwartz!"  
  
"I did," she responded absently, "but I came back." standing, she   
left the room with a frown.  
  
"That part, I knew," was Ken's dry response to her back. He shifted a   
bit, glaring down at the wet spot in his bed, "Now how am I going to   
get back to sleep?"  
  
---  
  
Ranko had pushed all the furniture in the mission room against the   
walls. She was dressed in a loose blue shirt that fell just past her   
hips, and a pair of sweat pants, seeing as her regular work out   
clothes were still at the Tendou Dojo.  
  
As usual, she started warm-up with a few light stretches, and a   
couple karate kata. Chi-kata to put power back into her moves via   
dynamic tension, Pidan Nidan and Pidan Sandan to make sure her   
balance was still perfect after three days without practice. Then she   
flew into one of the beginning kata of the Founding School of   
Musabetsu Kakatou Ryu.  
  
At quarter to seven, she heard movement above, but ignored it, as she   
continued to run through a number of ground-based kata. The ceiling   
was preventing her from performing any of the air-based ones.  
  
It wasn't until the sounds of hyperactive fangirls filtered down   
around seven thirty that she came to a halt. It wasn't all that long   
of a practice-- only an hour and a half, but she was tired of   
thinking in circles about the same things. Besides, she was getting   
hungry.   
  
Padding up the stairs, she nodded a greeting to Ken, then vanished   
into the kitchen. Once her hunger had been sated-- Weiss would have   
to go shopping soon-- she returned to the room she'd been given.   
Without thought, she scribbled a note and taped it to the door.  
  
It read, in messy katakana, which was barely legible, "Going out   
tonight. Sleeping. Go away."  
  
---  
  
The fact that someone was banging on the door pulled her from her   
slumber. Rache growled low in her throat, but stumbled to the single   
apartment's door in the short, six steps it took.   
  
"What?!" the girl all but snarled into the face of the unsuspecting   
brunette outside her door. The taller woman jumped in surprise.  
  
"Naru...?"  
  
"What do you want, Kino?" Rache scrubbed at her forehead, glowering   
at her neighbor. Why did she have to see this woman, _now_? All she   
wanted to do was sleep, and maybe abuse Ranma's-- sorry, Xue Shi's--   
charge card.  
  
Kino was frowning, but handed her a white card; "It's your invite to   
the wedding."  
  
Rache took the card; and frowned, "Don't expect to see me there,   
Kino," without bothering to say goodbye, she slammed the door shut.   
The card was tossed to the top of her kitchenette's counter, and she   
dropped herself back onto her futon. Eyes shut, she was asleep before   
her head hit the pillow.  
  
Outside, Kino was still staring at the door, "That was rude."  
  
"That's Rache for you," a nasal voice came from behind the brunette.   
Whirling, she found herself nose-to-nose with a red haired man who   
bore a striking resemblance to the woman she'd just spoken to,   
"Always a bitch when she's been up all night."  
  
"Who are you?!" Kino lifted her fisted hands into a guard position.   
The man laughed.  
  
"Schuldich."   
  
Kino started as he blurred, then vanished.  
  
---  
  
"Sleeping beauty awakes!"  
  
Ranko shot Yohji one of the darkest glares she had ever summoned,   
lips drawing back in a sneer, "How'd the girls take your   
disfigurement, Kudou?"  
  
Sore spot! Ranko crowed to herself as Yohji's expression darkened. He   
didn't respond, and she pushed past him, tugging on a pair of   
oversized black leather gloves, "I'm going out. Don't expect me back   
until tomorrow."  
  
And then she was out the door and down the street. It was only a   
couple moments later when Manx entered the shop.  
  
---  
  
The phone, Oz noted, was ringing. Not unusual. However, he was unable   
to get the phone. Oz was dying his hair, again. With a shrug, the   
teenaged guitarist decided that it was up to Fei to get it.  
  
Fei, on the other hand, was so involved in his video game that he   
couldn't _hear_ the phone. Three more rings, then a click, and the   
answering machine picked up, "Oz? Oz, answer the damned phone! I   
_know_ you're there!" several moments of silence, then, "Alright...   
Fei? You there? Hey, Wu Fei!"  
  
Fei's head snapped up, "My name is _Li Fei_! Not _Wu Fei_, Sushi!"  
  
"It's the answering machine, idiot," was Oz's call from the bathroom.  
  
"Oh," now alerted to the plight of their caller, Fei paused his game   
and lifted the receiver, "My name is Chang Li Fei, not Chang Wu Fei,   
Sushi."  
  
"Then don't call me Sushi," came the female voice, "It's about time   
you picked up."  
  
"Playing video games," was the response, and a silence that screamed   
"I should have known that. I really should have know that" from the   
caller. Said caller spoke again after several moments of this.  
  
"Look. Tell Akira I have to take a rain check on that recording   
again. Family business and all that."  
  
The Chinese teen blinked, "Alright... does it have something to do   
with last night?"  
  
"...yes." And no more. Not even a 'bai-bai'. The line was just dead.   
Fei looked at the receiver a bit surprised.  
  
"Wow. _Must_ be important. We usually get into a fight before she   
hangs up."  
  
---  
  
Ranma, in male form, stood silently behind, and slightly to the left,   
of Jei. He was wearing his regular Chinese outfit, although the blood   
red tunic bore an embroidered black oriental dragon on the back. The   
black leather gloves that had been falling off his delicate   
female-form's hands fit snugly to his callused male-form's hands.  
  
They stood around the gate at the Narita Airport, awaiting Reiji's   
arrival with his "Old Friend". According to Crawford, they would then   
retire to the friend's home for the night, before returning to   
Reiji's own home, most likely drunk.  
  
Ranma's meeting with Nagi and Crawford had been rather anti-climatic,   
comparing to the events of the last few days. It was hard to believe   
that it had been less than a week since Crawford had sent Schuldich   
and Farfello to Nerima to pick up Kitty.   
  
When Kitty had meet Crawford, Oracle had greeted him, zoned out for   
moment in a vision, then gave the confused martial artist a tight   
smile. Nagi had greeted him with a nod, then returned to his   
computer. An hour later-- as well as a phone call to a certain   
"pilot"-- and they were out of the door and on their way to the   
airport.  
  
They had been expecting two tanned men in suits-- Reiji was a rather   
serious businessman, after all. However, what they got was two men,   
laughing loudly, as thought drunker than hell, wearing colorful,   
floral print T-shirts and shorts. Not to mention flip-flops and   
sunglasses.  
  
Ranma groaned. It wasn't loud enough for the men to hear, but   
Schwartz did.   
  
"Something wrong, Bishoujo?"  
  
Ranma didn't get a chance to answer Schuldich's question-- Reiji's   
"old friend" saw him.  
  
"What you doing here, Keiki?" This brought Reiji's attention to the   
ebony-haired boy.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Saotome Ranma, Sir," surprisingly, there was no tone in the boy's   
voice, "I work for Farfello-sama."  
  
"You don't work," the old friend-- Kunou Pauline -- snorted. Ranma   
did gain a tone when he responded to him. One that was designed   
specifically to prompt fights. It was one he'd used all the time back   
in Nerima.  
  
"With all do respect, _Sir_, you've been in Hawaii for the past two   
months. Things change." He fell silent then, returning to "natural   
stance"-- feet shoulder width apart, hands loosely fisted, and held   
in front of him, about hip level-- behind Jei.  
  
  
End  
  
(I wanted to go further, but I just couldn't figure out where to go...) 


	14. Nerima

You lucky people, you! It's 3:00, friday afternoon. I've just spent the   
last fourty-five minutes going over the chapter, fixing all those   
lovely problems my pre-reader found. And, since it's done before   
nightfall, that means that the teaser isn't going to be used.   
  
Yes, I was going to put up a teaser, instead of the next chapter,   
considering neither my pre-reader nor I thought that it would be ready   
for this week. But, halleluah! It's been finished. Aren't we a bunch of   
happy readers? Happy readers that will send Li Xiang money, not for the   
fic, but for Li Xiang's rather large anime addiction. So that those   
fansubs awaiting Li Xiang's hands, can actually get there...  
  
Sorry, I watched an episode and a half of Saiyuki, and now I want it.  
  
In other news, I've done it again! For those of you who've known me for   
awhile, know that I used to have a comic entitled "Oni". It didn't get   
very far. This time, however, I _will_ update my new comic, "Legions".   
Legions updates every monday with a new comic, at   
http://www.geocities.com/airrydragon/ for those of you who want to   
check it out.  
  
Oh, and _Krypt_? Wrong Kunou. Think his dad.  
  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Thirteen: Nerima  
Li Xiang  
  
  
It was when they entered Reiji's limo-- Crawford and Ranma had been   
"chosen" to be the "bodyguards" in the car with the two older men--   
that it happened. Pauline had been quiet when Crawford was chosen,   
although he was the one to suggest Ranma. Reiji had trusted his long   
time friend's decision.   
  
Ranma had expected it. How could he not? He'd spent two years in the   
man's school, he knew the Kunou family was insane. Therefore, he caught   
Pauline's wrist, and tapped a shiatsu point Doctor Tofuu had used on   
him a few times in the past. The sheers fell to the floor of the limo.  
  
Despite not knowing the boy's true motives for working with his   
"bodyguards", Reiji had to smirk. The boy was good. He didn't even   
flinch when Pauline lunged at him-- he'd seen trained military   
officers, people who had been trained to be able to look down the   
barrel of a fully loaded semi-automatic machine gun and smirk, flinch   
when confronted by Pauline and his razor sharp sheers.  
  
Their friendship had survived, mostly because Pauline had no desire to   
take Reiji's job. Really, all he wanted from Reiji was money to fly to   
Hawaii, and money to spend in Hawaii. Not to mention someone to   
complain about Kodachi and Tatewaki to.  
  
"My hair," came Ranma's sneer, "if off limits, Kunou. You should know   
that by now."  
  
The older man did something ever so mature. He stuck out his tongue.   
Ranma blinked, not having to expected a full grown man to stick out his   
tongue. While normally the ebon haired teenager would respond by   
sticking out his tongue, it just seemed strange to see it from an   
adult.  
  
Even if it was a Kunou.  
  
Crawford raised an eyebrow, and did not comment. Somehow, just somehow,   
he couldn't understand _why_ Reiji would be friends with an inept moron   
who acted like a child.  
  
Pauline pulled his tongue in with a scowl in Ranma's direction, from   
the lack of response, as well as the look he was getting from Crawford.   
He had never personally met the man until that day, but Reiji had   
spoken of Schwartz when he had first hired them. Crawford was just as   
Reiji had described-- dignified and calculating. He may act like a   
psychotic hair-obsessed idiot, but even he could see the cold gleam in   
Crawford's eyes behind his glasses. At least in those rare moments of   
ludicity; those happened almost once a year, now that he was taking his   
medicines.  
  
As he turned his gaze back to "his" student, Pauline felt a chill go   
down his spine. Despite _looking_ normal, there was almost a feral   
quality about him. Ranma's eyes glinted almost malevolently, even if   
his face was blanked. Not even that infuriating smirk was on his face.  
  
The moment passed, and Pauline lunged for the sheers, only to be   
slammed into the left door of the limo. Ranma dropped his leg from the   
kick. Again, the man snatched up his scissors, and charged at Ranma;   
and considering that they were in a car at that moment, Ranma had   
little room to maneuver. Another kick, with a punch thrown in, just for   
fun, Pauline found himself making friends with the door, again.  
  
Reiji scowled, "Don't fight in here."  
  
Ranma's voice was monotone again, "Of course, Sir."  
  
Pauline whimpered, crawling back into his seat, "But Reiji-kun..."[1]  
  
"No," Reiji turned a piercing glare on his friend, and the Kunou   
Patriarch wilted. He always had, ever since they were kids. Reiji could   
be _Scary_ when he wanted to be. Pauline gave a puppy-like whine, then   
settled into his seat with a pout. Already, ideas of how to relieve   
Ranma of his pigtail raced around inside his head.   
  
Ranma, Crawford and Reiji ignored Kunou's mad giggling, from long   
practice-- Crawford form Farfello, Reiji from Pauline himself, and   
Ranma from dealing with Kodachi.   
  
The drive to Nerima and the Kunou mansion was boring, in Ranma's view.   
After Reiji had forbidden Pauline and Ranma from fighting, they'd   
settled into a staring contest, glowering at each other. Even when   
Pauline was chatting with Reiji, he watched Ranma out of the corner of   
his eye.  
  
The limo, as well as the black car the rest of Schwartz was in, pulled   
into the Kunou driveway, under the gaze of one Kunou Kodachi. The   
gymnast sighed; it looked like her father was home. That thought   
changed instantly, when some man she didn't know, came out of the car,   
followed by her Ranma-sama.  
  
"My love," Kodachi whispered to the window, "You have finally come for   
me!"  
  
Her state of bliss was abruptly shattered by a man she'd seen in   
pictures-- Takatori Reiji-- and her father exited the limo. It came   
back just as quickly, as she decided that Ranma must have endured her   
father's madness to ask for her hand in marriage. She laughed.  
  
"Ohohohohohohohohohohohohohohoho!"  
  
An involuntary shiver ran down Ranma's back, and his head snapped up at   
the laugh, even as he tripped Pauline. The man-- and his sheers-- hit   
the ground, "Oh great, the Psycho's home."   
  
/The one who's broadcasting disgusting fantasies of you, Bishoujo?/  
  
/That's the one/ "Jei-sama?" Ranma turned to his master, "Whatever   
Kodachi says, don't believe it. She's out of her mind."  
  
"Oh?" Schwartz and Ranma had fallen into step behind the two rich men.   
Farfello's hand lay possessively on Ranma's shoulder.  
  
"She's tried to force herself on me, before," the ebony haired boy   
sounded vaguely disgusted, as they passed the threshold, and entered   
the Kunou mansion.  
  
Jei was just barely able to yank Ranma to him, as the larger form of   
the principal of Furinkan high whirled, sheers in hand. The man skidded   
to a stop, his target having moved, "Da big Kahuna refuses to 'llow   
long-hair in his home. You be getting a hair-cut!"  
  
Schuldich's hand went to his own, flame toned locks, and his eyes   
narrowed into slits. Like hell he'd let this man touch his hair. Ranma   
had similar thoughts as he shot forwards to relieve Pauline of the   
sheers in his hand. The older man grinned madly, lunging at his "prey".  
  
Farfello snarled as he watched, but he held back. If Ranma was really   
serious, the Saotome Family honour blade would be out. Ranma was   
playing a game of... "Cat and Mouse", with Pauline. Of course, someone   
_else_ didn't see it that way.  
  
"Ranma-sama!"  
  
The ribbon cracked the air, and Kodachi pulled the sheers from her   
father's hand. The Black Rose swept forwards, visions of her Ranma-sama   
dropping to his knees before her beauty and proposing to her flooded   
her mind.  
  
Farfello's snarl turned into an outright bestial growl. Ranma heard the   
growl, and turned his attention back to where, Farfello believed, it   
belonged: on him.   
  
"Jei-sama!" Kitty was by his master's side in a mere moment, "You   
remember what I said, Jei-sama?"  
  
"Jei...sama?!" Kodachi shrieked, dropping both ribbon and sheers--   
Pauline lunged for them, and turned to face Schuldich. Kodachi grabbed   
Ranma about the neck with a wail, "What is this about, Ranma-sama?!"  
  
"Get off him," Farfello was growling again, single amber eye flashing   
darkly. The Irishman forcefully pried the girl off _his_ property,   
throwing her to the ground, and wrapping himself around Ranma. The boy   
looked a mixture of confusion and relief. Confusion, due to not   
understanding _exactly_ what was going on between Farfello and Kodachi,   
and relief for having Kodachi knocked off of him.  
  
"Are you done yet?" Nagi stood at the far end of the hall, "Reiji-sama   
is getting annoyed Jiro."  
  
Pauline blinked a few times. It had been a long time since anyone other   
than Reiji had called him 'Jiro', considering that it was his birth   
name. With a bit of a shrug, he dropped the sheers again. He kept   
wondering where the sharp pain in his skull was coming from; they   
always vanished once he let go of the sheers... and backed away from   
Schuldich, "I guess you don't _have_ to get a hair cut, _right_ now..."  
  
Schuldich smirked, and padded further into the mansion behind its   
owner. Still standing in the front entrance, Jei _glared_ at Kodachi,   
before leading his Kitty into the home with an almost gleeful grin.  
  
Kodachi fumed where she sat, before bouncing to her feet. Whoever this   
one-eyed peasant was, there was no _way_ she'd let _him_ steal _her_   
Ranma-sama!  
  
The thing was, Jei was thinking along those very same lines.  
  
---  
  
Ranma stood, much as he had over the past few hours, with a nervous   
look on his face. Jei and Kodachi had been glaring at one another, or   
staring at him, since they'd entered. Kodachi's craze, lusting gaze was   
a familiar weight that Ranma could ignore easily. However, Farfello's   
almost... predatory stare was new. Then again, Ranma had only been   
around his Jei-sama for a few short days.  
  
In addition, he was bored. Reiji and Pauline were drunk off their   
asses; Nagi was using his power to make various sculptures dance in   
circles; Schuldich was asleep; and Crawford had vanished somewhere a   
good hour and a half earlier.  
  
"If you're that bored," okay, so maybe Schuldich _wasn't_ asleep, "Do   
that martial arts thing of yours."  
  
Kodachi was nearly drooling at the though-- Ranma-sama, bare chested   
and sweat drenched, working out in her home... The fantasy had begun to   
twist into a seriously deranged sex fantasy when Schuldich intervened.   
Any telepath in _Japan_ could have seen her fantasy; she was   
broadcasting so strongly.  
  
While he _love_ to test out some of the more... kinky situations, on a   
certain nineteen-year-old brunette, others were too much, even for him.  
  
The telepath ruthlessly gave her a glimpse of a full-blown migraine,   
for a good minute and a half. Kodachi whimpered, and Schuldich dropped   
out of her mind with a smirk.  
  
She bounced to her feet, Ranma and Jei already moving out of the room.   
A nasty little smirk crossed her features. She'd lead Ranma-sama to   
their dojo-- he'd be grateful, banish the white-haired bodyguard, and   
they'd make beautiful passionate love.  
  
Giggling madly, the gymnast darted in front of her love, "Ranma-sama!   
I'll show you to the dojo!"  
  
Farfello growled, curling his fingers in the back of Ranma's shirt. The   
younger man nodded, and the gymnast latched herself to Ranma's side.   
Her hand came up, waving the Irishman off, "Begone, peasant!"  
  
It was Ranma himself that grabbed her wrist, "You _ever_ call Jei-sama   
a 'peasant' again, and I _won't_ hesitate to kill you. Is that   
understood?"  
  
"Ranma-sama..." Kodachi was divided on what to do. On one hand, this   
peasant had obviously brainwashed her Ranma-sama into believing he was   
less than the gaijin trash. On the other, her Ranma-sama had threatened   
her. Her! His one true love!  
  
She glared at the evil Jei again. He was at fault, as much as that   
whore Tendou Akane, for keeping Ranma-sama away from her. The gaijin   
looked down at her, his single eye radiating a sense of smugness, and   
contempt, as they moved through the mansion, towards the training   
room/dojo.  
  
"Oh! Ranma-sama, Tatchi may be practicing inside..."  
  
"Good," Ranma _purred_. Kodachi looked a bit surprised-- she'd never   
heard Ranma _purr_ before-- and Jei was the picture of a hyperactive   
six-year-old standing at the gates to Disney land. He was almost   
_bouncing_ in place as Ranma continued, "I need to work off some   
stress."  
  
The door swung inwards when Kodachi touched it. Within stood Kunou   
Tatewaki, in all his "glory". The bokoutou arced through the air, the   
young kendo student running through his forms. The fading sunlight   
spilled through the window, giving the room and almost daydream   
quality.  
  
"Abyssian's better."  
  
One had to wonder if they practiced that. Ranma and Jei had spoken as   
one, their voices ringing out through the training hall. Kunou froze.   
He turned, slowly, to the door.  
  
"Knave! How dare you enter these holy grounds, demon! Your mere   
presence defiles my home, sorcerer! Begone!"  
  
"Does he always talk like this, Kitty?"  
  
Ranma snorted, "Sometimes, the moron is worse."  
  
"You dare?!" Kunou roared, "You dare to speak ill of mineself? Have at   
thee!" The kendoist lunged at Ranma, swinging the wooden blade,   
screaming his "war cry"-- "RATATATATATATATATATATA!"  
  
The martial artist dodged lazily, hands in his pockets. As Kunou   
overextended, Ranma leaned back. His leg snapped up, cracking loudly   
against Kunou's elbow. He screamed in pain, as the joint was forcibly   
reversed, the bokoutou slipping from nerveless fingers.  
  
"Asshole!!" Kodachi, Jei and Ranma blinked. With the way Kunou normally   
talked, they hadn't expected this. Nor his next words, "You goddamned   
_whore_!!! You broke my arm, you fuckin' LUNATIC!!"  
  
Even more shocking was the fact that Kunou's eyes did not hold the   
glaze of obsession that had been there so long, even _Pauline_ couldn't   
remember a time when it wasn't there. Kunou had never had such a   
serious injury, however, and apparently, it was enough pain, that it   
loosed him from his insanity. At least, temporarily.  
  
"Asshole," Kunou repeated, using his good arm to push himself to his   
feet. His teeth were grit in pain, but a dark grin lit his lips,   
"You're a fool," he sneered, "A fool bound to evil."  
  
He stood tall, the glaze still gone from his eyes. In its place was   
pain, but still a hell of arrogance, "You're a low-borne crass fool.   
You'll never be anything more. Following your father like a dog on a   
leash, unable to think for himself," a mad chuckle distorted by pain   
worked itself from his lips, the veneer of insanity crawling across his   
eyes again, "You are _nothing_ Saotome. You will _never_ be anything   
more than nothing. A toy, made for his superiors-- such as I!"[2]  
  
Kunou would have continued his rant, but he was interrupted-- he found   
himself slammed through the wall, legs twitching. Jei stood where Kunou   
had, panting and snarling. Ranma jumped forwards, catching Jei's   
shoulder, just as Reiji and Pauline burst in to see what the ruckus was   
about.  
  
"...the hell?" that, was Reiji.  
  
"Youse little punks! You put my Tatchi through the wall!! Get out!! OUT   
OF MY HOUSE!" and that, would be Pauline. The Kunou Patriarch was a   
little more than pissed off.   
  
Mostly over the fact that he'd have to delay that next trip to Hawaii   
to pay for the damages done to his house.  
  
---  
  
Ranma kicked a stray can into the air, scowling into the early night,   
the sun having set only an hour and a half earlier, "_Now_ what do we   
do?"  
  
Jei shrugged, "We could hunt."  
  
"No we can't," the martial artist grumbled, glaring at the ground,   
"Damn near everyone in this district is a martial artist."  
  
"Really?" Jei draped an arm over Kitty's shoulders, dragging the boy   
close enough that he could play with the metal name tag at Ranma's   
throat. His pet nodded, and Jei frowned, "If you can't hunt here...   
what do you do?"  
  
"I'm Xue Shi, Jei-sama. I usually went to Juuban and did a few   
performances," the ebony haired boy made a face, "Akira threatened to   
let all of Japan know about my curse if I ever tired to get out of it."  
  
"So kill him."  
  
Ranma snorted, "I've thought about it, before, but I like Akira. I   
won't kill someone I like."  
  
Once more, Farfello's creepy pout came forwards, "But those are the   
deaths that hurt God the most!"  
  
Ranma didn't really have an argument for that. All he knew was that he   
didn't want to kill Akira. It might have something to do with the fact   
that the man had made him rich. Akira had even stopped Nabiki--   
indirectly, of course-- from marketing Ranma-onna's image, due to Ranko   
"looking like a cheap knock-off of Xue Shi."  
  
"I want to kill something," Farfello growled into Ranma's neck, "Rip   
something into itty bitty bloody pieces. Make God's smile crack, and   
his eyes pour. He'll never hurt me, if I hurt him first! To bath in the   
blood of innocence, and listen to his heart shatter, and laugh, and   
laugh, and laugh..."  
  
Farfello had switched to English, speaking with a thick, Irish broque,   
halfway through his ranting. The pale haired assassin nipped at his   
pet's skin, then pulled back to stare into the night. Ranma had tensed   
almost imperceptibly, before relaxing completely. He was ready for   
anything.  
  
Well, almost anything, except the purple and white cat that strode out   
of the shadows in their direction. Despite his swiftly returning feline   
instincts and thoughts, Ranma still wasn't quite rid of his   
ailurophobia. He gave a wailing scream of terror, twisting out of   
Farfello's grip, to cower behind him. His master would protect him, his   
panicked mind whimpered, Jei-sama would keep the evil thing away.  
  
Farfello looked at his Kitty in confusion, then looked back at the cat   
who was terrifying his property, "...Can I kill it?"  
  
The whimper from behind him was all the information he needed. His   
knife slipped into his hand, a malicious smile crossing his face. The   
cat stopped, and stared at the unknown man for several moments.   
Farfello's grin broke, and he spoke, "Killing kittens hurts God."  
  
He lunged at the cat, and it nimbly dodged out of his way. A low growl,   
and a sadistic grin, was sent in the cat's direction. Cackling madly,   
the Irishman lashed out with a sharp kick. The cat took the attack in   
the ribs, flying back; it rolled when it hit the ground, bouncing to   
it's feet, and hissing. Farfello started after it, but it ran off into   
the night.  
  
The pout returned, "No kill?"  
  
"Z'it gone...?" the madman turned back to his pet, who was curling out   
of the fetal position he'd assumed when Farfello went after the cat.  
  
"Gone," Farfello agreed, "but not dead. I wanted to kill it!"  
  
"Her," Ranma corrected, "That was Shampoo. She thinks she's my wife."  
  
"What?" Jei had heard about Xian Phu when he'd first met up with Kitty,   
again. He had, of course, assumed she was human.  
  
"Jhusenkyou, Spring of drowned Cat," Ranma explained, "Normally, she's   
human. With purple hair, and happens to have a great body."  
  
Farfello growled angrily, pulling Ranma to him, "You're mine!"  
  
From any of the Fiancée Front, such possessiveness would have had Ranma   
freaking out, and desperately trying to get away without getting   
killed. The fact that it was his Jei-sama, simply had him relaxing   
against his master. He didn't even protest Farfello's talking as though   
he was an object to possess.  
  
"Of course."  
  
---  
  
"Great-grandmother! Great-grandmother!" Xian Phu darted from the   
kitchen, naked as the day she was born. It didn't really matter-- there   
was no one there to see her. Muu Tzu was off training to get rid of   
Ranma, "once and for all", and since it was after dark, the Nekohanten   
was closed.  
  
"What is it, child?"  
  
Xian Phu switched to mandarin, so that there would be no mistakes in   
what she said, "Husband was with this man. I wanted to surprise him,   
but I got splashed first," she shivered, just noticing that she was   
naked. After a moment, she gathered herself, "I came out to greet him,   
but he ducked behind the man."  
  
"He didn't run?" Khu Lon interrupted.  
  
Xian Phu shook her head, "He screamed, and even whimpered, but he   
didn't run. The man... Goddess Above! Great-grandmother, he asked   
Husband if he could _kill_ me, then he attacked me! He came at him with   
a knife, but I dodged, and he _kicked_ me! If I hadn't gotten away,   
there's no doubt. He would have killed me."  
  
"This does not sound good. Son-in-law hasn't been the same since the   
battle at Jusendou. We must watch him."  
  
  
  
End  
  
[1] Before anyone makes a comment, they've been friends forever,   
remember?  
[2] Temporarily Sane. See, he's already going back. If he'd stayed   
sane, he wouldn't have said that, now would he? *smirk*  
  
And yes, there is a purpose to the Amazon scene. Mwahahahahahaha... 


	15. Dojo

A large number of you probably knew this was coming. Mostly those I   
emailed with a plea for help, but...  
  
Pain is my name, right now. I hurt all over. Warning to people. When   
you're a green belt, and the only other green belt in the class is   
faster than you, don't go full power. It hurts for a few days   
afterwards. I haven't been able to practise without feeling something   
hurt. At least I can type without my wrists screaming, ne?  
  
_Krypt_ - Our Fuku'd friends won't be showing up... at least not for   
a long while, yet.   
  
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Fourteen: Dojo  
Li Xiang  
  
  
  
"I wanna get some of my stuff."  
  
Jei paused in mid-motion. He set the cup back down on the counter.   
The two of them had muscled their way into the bar-- really, all   
Ranma had to do was flare is battle aura, and they were in.   
  
"What do you mean, Kitty?"  
  
The first person in the bar who had made a snide comment about the   
Kitty/Jei-sama "thing" had to be taken to the hospital. Those who   
have seen the so-called "fight" happen, did not tried to (a) do the   
same, or (b) kick Jei and Ranma out. Those who weren't completely and   
totally plastered, warned new arrivals off.  
  
"I mean, I want to go back to the dojo, and get my stuff, and leave.   
For good."  
  
Jei's face broke out into something attempting to mimic an ecstatic   
grin. Any of the patrons who looked at him in that moment turned away   
in fright. Farfello was scary, any way you put it, "You'll be moving   
in with Schwartz? With me?"  
  
Ranma shook his head, "I'm staying at the Koneko until the base is   
completed. I _still_ haven't figured out Abyssian. Balinese is a   
perv, Bombay an idiot, Siberian's smart; he stays out of my way...   
but Abyssian... I don't get him."  
  
Farfello shrugged, "I don't either, and I've known him longer than   
you."  
  
"I think he's got a crush on 'Ranko'," Ranma declared after a moment.   
Jei stiffened, eye slitting dangerously; Ranma didn't notice, and   
continued blithely, "From everything I've overheard, he's been acting   
seriously out of character."  
  
"I hadn't noticed," Jei growled. Kitty was _his_-- male _and_ female   
forms-- and he wasn't about to share his pet with anyone. Especially   
not someone from Weiss!  
  
"You don't live with him. Any ways, if we go to the dojo now, maybe   
we'll miss the Tendous. That'll be nice. Unlikely, but nice."  
  
Ranma bounded to his feet, dropping some of the money he'd earned as   
Xue Shi on the table. Jei shook his head, downing his alcohol--   
Guinness; he'd never gotten used to the taste of sake-- and stood to   
follow his pet.  
  
Unlike Ranma, he _hoped_ to run into the Tendous. Specifically Akane.   
For what _should_ be obvious reasons.  
  
---  
  
Two shadows-- one a bit taller than the other-- drifted through the   
darkness, to alight on the wall around the Tendou-ke. Neither made a   
sound as they paced the wall, searching to see if those within were   
awake.   
  
Through the windows, the forms of three teenaged girls, and a panda,   
could be seen slumbering.  
  
The first of the shadows dropped lightly onto all fours, outside the   
porch doors. It stood, the pale light of the moon obscured by clouds,   
leaving the form in shadows. Silence surrounded it as it slipped into   
the home. The second shadow didn't move.  
  
Instinct took over, and the shadow moved at a quick pace, easily   
moving around furniture, suggesting familiarity with the place. After   
a second, the shadow darted up the stairs, and entered the room of   
one of the teenagers. It was barely within two feet of the door   
before a flashlight clicked on.  
  
"Omittchi? The hell..."  
  
"Shh!" the seventeen-year-old glanced around nervously, "Do you want   
to wake your family up?"  
  
"The only one we have to worry about is Kasumi," Nabiki grumbled,   
sitting up, "Daddy and Ran...ko's father drank themselves silly, and   
Akane worked herself to exhaustion. Now... what are you doing in my   
home at," she glanced at her clock, "One in the morning?"  
  
The assassin settled onto her bed beside her, "Business; Kritiker   
needs their best info-hacker to crack this disk," he held out a CD,   
"Weiss retrieved it a few days ago on a mission. I took a look at it,   
and couldn't figure it out; so I give it to Manx. She said to try you   
after failing to crack it."  
  
"How much?"  
  
"Normal rate, plus two percent," Omi grinned, "So you'll do it?"  
  
"You'll keep Ranko and Ranma out of trouble?"  
  
Omi sighed, "We'll _try_ to keep Ranko out, but we haven't seen, let   
alone met, Ranma yet."  
  
There was the sound of a body slamming into a wall, and the house   
shook. Omi and Nabiki bounded to their feet-- Nabiki grabbed a robe--   
and ran out of the room. As they flew down the stairs, Nabiki   
muttered, "I think you'll meet him soon enough."  
  
---  
  
Outside, Yohji shook his head out, climbing to his feet from where   
he'd been slammed into the wall. Across from him, stood a pair of   
shadows; or rather, one stood, and one was getting up from a crouch.  
  
The porch lights flicked on, flooding the backyard with light.   
Farfello's silver-haired, gold-eyed form was familiar. The other man,   
however, was not. Black silk clung to his legs, while a red silk   
embroidered with a black dragon wrapped around his torso and upper   
arms. Black leather gloves encased his hands, and Ranko's familiar   
leather collar was tight around his throat.   
  
His stormy blue eyes were identical to Ranko's, but where he hair was   
brilliant, the red of freshly spilled blood, his was darker than the   
darkest shadows of the night. He, like Ranko, had hair tied back in a   
braid.  
  
"Ranma!"  
  
"Hey Nabiki," the man-- Ranma-- greeted with a smirk, "How's   
business...?"  
  
"Get away form that man!" she called from the porch door behind Omi,   
"He's dangerous!"  
  
Ranma lifted his hands into the air, with an expression of   
exasperation, "How many times do I have to hear that? It's annoying!   
You know damn well I'm just as dangerous..."  
  
"You've never killed before," Omi was making an assumption here. From   
what Nabiki had told him, this was true. How could it have changed in   
less than a week?  
  
"Saffron," Ranma's voice was cool, as he declared the demi-god's   
name, "I pierced his heart with an icicle, as we fought. He died.   
Sure, he was reborn, but that's the way of the Phoenix. I still   
killed him."  
  
"That was for self-defense," Nabiki pointed out with a growl-- why   
was Ranma trying to defend a known murder? "You've never killed in   
cold blood!"  
  
"We prefer to call it hunting." Farfello's gaze was bone chilling as   
it settled on her, "My Kitty is a magnificent hunter, drenched in   
blood, proclaiming his victory over God and man, screaming with   
bloodlust..."  
  
"I thought Ranko was 'Kitty'," Yohji muttered, fingering his watch.   
He was itching to loop his wire around the Irishman's neck, to   
finally be rid of him. Ranma shot the older man a look of disdain.   
Jei smirked, and Nabiki dropped her head.  
  
"Oh my, we have guests!"  
  
The tableau was broken, as Kasumi stepped up behind her sister, "Oh!   
Ranma, you're back!"  
  
"Hey Kasumi," Ranma shrugged, "Just grabbing me and _Ranko's_ stuff."  
  
"Hi Kasumi-neechan."  
  
"Hello Omi-kun. Won't you come in? I can make some snacks..." the   
keeper of the Tendou-ke drifted back into her kitchen; Ranma   
followed, darting around Omi and Nabiki with a cheerful chant of   
"Food!"  
  
Jei snickered, following closely behind his pet. Omi and Yohji   
snapped out of their dazes in time to go in after the middle Tendou   
sister. The sight that greeted them was not what they expected.   
Ranma, Jei and Nabiki were seated at the table-- Ranma and Jei at one   
end, Nabiki at the other. Ranma was leaning against the Schwartz   
assassin with a faintly amused smirk. The assassin's left hand had   
woven itself into his Kitty's hair, as his gold eye held Nabiki's   
gaze.  
  
Nervously, Omi and Yohji settled themselves on either side of the   
Tendou girl.  
  
Ranma spoke, "So, what are the twit twins doing here?"  
  
"Ranma," Nabiki growled, eyes darkening in anger, "First, don't call   
Omittchi a twist. Second, what business is it of yours?"  
  
The ebony-haired boy shrugged, "Whatever. I just want to get my stuff   
and leave."  
  
"And how do you think you'll support yourself?" Nabiki knew she had   
him cornered. He didn't have a job, and to mention the Koneko would   
merely make Yohji and Omi suspicious. After all, they had never met   
Ranma before.  
  
"What business of it is yours?" Ranma mimicked, and Farfello   
snickered. Nabiki's glare prompted Ranma-- trained for the past two   
years he'd lived with her-- to speak, "I've got a good job; pays   
pretty nicely, too. Probably more than the twin morons get."  
  
"Ranma!"  
  
"What? You said not to call Tsukiyono a twit, not a moron."  
  
Nabiki's glare intensified, "Let's put it this way, Ranma, don't   
insult them, in _any_ way."  
  
Ranma snorted, "So Ranko's allowed to tease them, but I'm not? How   
unfair is that?" Again, Farfello chuckled, drawing his Kitty closer.   
Neither young man moved as Kasumi entered the room, bearing a plate   
of mochi.  
  
"Try not to stay up to late, Nabiki, Ranma. You have school in the   
morning?"  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes, turned to Jei, and whined, "Do I _hafta_?"  
  
"No," Jei gave the martial artist a grin, "You're coming home with   
me."  
  
"Where's Ranko?" Everyone turned to Yohji. He was frowning, "You said   
she was with you. Where is she?"  
  
"Not here, Playboy," Ranma gave him a nasty smile, ignoring Nabiki's   
sharp look, "Why? You got a crush on her, or something?"  
  
"He better not," Jei growled into Ranma's hair. Yohji snorted.  
  
"Doubtful. I just want to know what you did to her!"  
  
Jei, finally, spoke aloud, "She's gone. Non-existent, but not dead.   
Hidden beneath another face, the blood washed form her hair..." he   
snickered at that. He could understand why Schuldich thought mind   
games were fun to play.  
  
Nabiki's face paled, "He knows?!"  
  
"Jei-sama knows everything," Ranma's grin was terrifying in it's   
malevolence. Both Yohji and Omi missed the exchange, as the oldest of   
Weiss lunged across the table, knocking Ranma away to tackle   
Farfello.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, BASTARD?!"  
  
Jei thrashed, throwing Yohji off, climbing to his feet with a feral   
growl. Blood dripped from where the madman had bit his tongue upon   
receiving Yohji's tackle.  
  
Ranma, too, snarled. A feline hiss escaped his lips, eyes narrowing   
into thing slits. His fingers curled into claws, sparks of raw ki   
flickering over his hands. He bound to his feet, from where he'd been   
thrown.  
  
"We did nothing," Ranma snarled, "She did it herself... and _NO_ONE_   
attacks Jei-sama!"  
  
This time, it was Ranma who lunged at his target. Yohji dodged out of   
the way, placing himself in front of the door to the kitchen. Ranma   
landed on one foot, bracing himself for a second with a hand-- and   
leaving gouges in the floor boards from the ki claws that had   
extended from his finger tips-- before twisting and leaping once   
again. He shot forwards, ramming Yohji through the door with one   
shoulders, and one hand. Blood pooled around the ki claws for a   
moment, when they actually touched the White Hunter's skin, they it   
was spraying into the air as the claws tore free, taking a rather   
large piece of skin, and some muscle with it. Yohji had been hit with   
enough force to drive him across the kitchen, through the wall, and   
out into the middle of the backyard.  
  
Ranma followed through Yohji's newly made exit, Jei, Nabiki, Kasumi,   
and Omi racing after.  
  
The Saotome boy lazily dodged a punch from the retaliating Yohji-- it   
had to have been painful, for the assassin was using his torn arm.   
Again, and again, the assassin lashed out as Ranma tagged him. Each   
"tag" left a new wound, with more blood dripping from them. Drawing   
back, Yohji looped his wire around his fingers. He'd finish this   
fight.  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse at the wire on his   
opponent's hands. They flew at one another, once more.  
  
The ebony-haired teenager lead off with a sharp kick to Yohji's gut.   
The assassin dodged, loosing his wire in an attempt to ensnare   
Saotome's head. Ranma ducked, dropping his shoulder to body check the   
older male into the air. He followed up by launching himself after   
his opponent, twisting in mid-air, and slamming Yohji with another   
kick.  
  
As Ranma dropped lightly to the ground, Yohji crashed into the koi   
pond-- and sent a wave of water in Ranma's direction. The martial   
artist scrambled backwards, but, as usual, could not avoid the wave.   
  
Ranko stood, sopping wet, in Ranma's place. She growled, wringing out   
her hair, muttering obscenities at the world.  
  
Omi and Yohji gaped at the familiar flame haired form where Ranma had   
stood. Jei snorted, moving forwards to wrap his arms around her   
waist, "Looks like the 'secret' is out."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma crossed her arms a bit miffed, "I was really hoping it   
would stay a secret a bit longer."  
  
"You're a water magnet, Saotome," Nabiki grumbled, "You had to know   
this would happen sooner, rather than later."  
  
"Wha... Bu... no way... HOW?!" Omi's shout snapped Yohji out of his   
daze and the twenty-one-year-old pulled himself free of the koi pond.  
  
"Ranko?" he muttered, "Ranko is Ranma?"  
  
"Yes," the redhead former male sneered, "Ranko is Ranma. Ranma is   
Ranko. We're the same person."  
  
"How...?" Omi repeated plaintively, "Ranko's definitely female--" for   
some reason, he blushed here, "-- and Ranma's definitely male.   
Breasts that big can't possibly be bound that flat!"  
  
Ranma gave the youngest of Weiss a strange look, "You've been staring   
at my chest, Tsukiyono?"  
  
"Uh..." with the look he was getting from Farfello-- who was still   
wrapped around Ranma-- he didn't know how to answer. To say yes, was   
to die by Ranma and Farfello's hands. To say no, meant that Farfello   
would kill him for the thought that Ranma-onna wasn't good enough to   
be stared at.  
  
Omi figured Farfello would just use any excuse to kill him, in front   
of Ranma. Normally, he'd have attacked by now.  
  
"That doesn't matter!" Yohji snapped, stepping close enough to the   
redhead that Jei growled at him. Yohji ignored the madman in favour   
of glaring at Saotome, "How the hell did this happen?! One moment   
you're Ranma, the next, Ranko!"  
  
Ranma smirked haughtily, in Yohji's direction, before turning back to   
the Tendou home, "Figure it out, Play boy. Or you could ask Nabiki   
here. I've got bags to pack."  
  
Pulling free of her master's arms, Ranma sauntered back into the   
home. Jei paused long enough to pull his knife out, and finger it,   
staring at Weiss. Then he, too, entered the building.  
  
---  
  
A spark of red in the darkness caught the driver's attention. After a   
moment, the form of a young woman exited the building he was parked   
in front of. She looked to be about eighteen.  
  
Shinji rolled the window down, as she stepped up to the cab, "You the   
lady who ordered this junk?"  
  
"It's not junk," the redhead stated coolly, "But yeah, I ordered it."  
  
"Good. I was starting to think I'd got the wrong address," Shinji   
rubbed her forehead, "this area isn't the safest place to be at   
night, you know."  
  
"I'm aware of it," her voice was calm as he exited the cab. The pair   
walked in silence as they moved to the back. Shinji's partner, Seito,   
had already unlocked and pulled the doors open. The woman smiled at   
what was inside.  
  
"If you don't mind me askin'," Seito started, "What in the world do   
you need _sixteen_ computers for?"  
  
Green eyes danced, and she smiled a bit whimsically, "Well, there   
_are_ going to be ten people-- possibly more, we're not positive on   
whether Xue Shi wants to move her band here, yet-- living here."  
  
"Sushi?" Shinji hiked an eyebrow, as he hefted a cardboard box into   
his arms, "Isn't she one of those idol singers?"  
  
The woman smirked again, "She hates being called 'Sushi', but yes,   
she is." She directed Shinji and Seito into the building, and pointed   
to the large office to the right of the small one where Ken had been   
held two days prior, "You can put them in there. I have things to do,   
so when you're done, you can find me in the room beside the office."  
  
---  
  
"Well, that's about it," Ranma muttered, shouldering his pack, having   
changed back before coming up to pack his bags. It hadn't taken much   
more than ten minutes to pack his things. Two years living in a home   
didn't break the decade old habit of not unpacking his bag, for fear   
that he'd have to leave suddenly. It helped that Ranma didn't have   
much in the way of worldly possessions. The Saotome Katana-- he   
_still_ didn't know its name--, his tanto, and his collar were really   
all he owned, that he really cared about. And they were always,   
_always_, on him.  
  
He had packed more than that, of course. His clothing, sleeping bag,   
and futon, went into his pack. Various trinkets he'd picked up over   
his stay went in, as well. The few manga he'd found himself   
religiously following, and hiding from prying eyes, went too. Jei's   
comment on his tastes in "comics" had him beet red for several   
minutes.  
  
"About time," the Irishman grumbled, "I want to kill something."  
  
"Hurt Yohji," Ranma muttered, a bit distracted. This had gone better   
than he had hoped. In fact, he thought it had gone _too_ well. Luck   
was _never_ on his side. The shit was about to hit the fan, seeing as   
it had been building up over the past few days. It felt like things   
were about to go critical. Soon.  
  
Farfello grinned widely, and bounded down the stairs. Ranma followed   
at a more sedate pace, at least, until a familiar, female shriek of   
pain, split the air. Ranma bounded down the stairs, growling to   
himself.   
  
Couldn't this have waited, oh I don't know... a few _YEARS_?!  
  
For, standing there, dressed in pajamas with an expression of pure   
terror on her face, was Akane. And she had a knife jammed through the   
back of her left shoulder.  
  
  
End  
Aren't I evil? 


	16. Battles

It took two weeks, but here it is. Chapter Fifteen.   
  
My prereader tells me to slow down on how much of the fics I'm doing   
lately-- what with finals coming up and all. Atfirst, I wasn't really   
listening. I mean, I started False Identity sixteen weeks-- four   
months-- ago. During final exams. The fact that I only had one exam to   
take then, didn't penetrate until last night. I have three finals this   
semester-- Math, Social/History (French Revolution to World War I +   
Global Diveristy/Disparity), and English.   
  
Not to mention Karate practise, guitar practise, reviewing websites,   
updating Legions (my sprite comic) every monday, my little brother's   
fifteenth birthday is nine days away (the nineteenth), mother's day is   
way to soon, etc, etc.   
  
So, the chapters may be a little slow in coming.   
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Fifteen: Battles  
Li Xiang  
  
  
She had managed to drag herself out of bed after the fight outside   
awoken her. Jei's lips curled in a silent snarl of disgust as he paced   
down the stairs behind her. She had, on multiple occasions, hurt his   
kitty. She would pay.   
  
The knife handle in his palm was cool and familiar, as his hand   
clenched spasmodically around it. He didn't even utter his war cry as   
he descended upon her, blade positioned for the kill.  
  
She must have heard something, because she turned slightly, and the   
blade tore into her skin, scraping along the upper edge of her shoulder   
blade. Even as her brain just barely made the connection, a scream of   
pain leapt from her lips. Tendou Akane whirled around to face her   
attacker.  
  
Pale hair framed a man's face, dark scars patterning his skin. A single   
cold amber eye glared down at her, a confusing melee of insanity, rage,   
desperation, and calculating intelligence within.  
  
Her eyes shifted past him, desperately searching for someone--   
anyone!-- to save her from this madman. Then, out of the shadows, came   
the one who always rescued her. Always saved her.  
  
"Ranma!"  
  
The fact that two more men, and Nabiki came in from the kitchen blew   
past her. Her fiancee was here! He'd save her, like always, and she'd   
beat on him, and everything would go back to normal.  
  
Her world shattered as Ranma's icy voice came to her, "You missed."  
  
Jei pulled back, scowling, "I know that." his eyes shifted to behind   
her, and he smirked. Akane whirled, terrified that another attack had   
came up from behind her.  
  
Her blood splattered as Jei reached out and yanked his blade free. She   
gave a yelp of pain; spinning around to face her pale-haired tormentor   
once more. Despite her exhaustion from the day's "training", she was   
ready to battle. Adrenaline began pumping, and her anger starts to boil   
over.  
  
She ignored Nabiki's attempt to grab her arm and pull her to safety.   
Even with her blood spilling out of her shoulder, Akane was confident   
she could take this one eyed freak out.  
  
Raising her hands, ignoring the sharp sting from the motion, and the   
warm liquid dripping down her back, she summoned Mallet-sama. Behind   
Jei, Ranma flinched instinctually upon seeing the weapon. Farfello may   
not have seen his Kitty's reaction to it, but he'd been told of it   
before.  
  
His lips curled back, as the mallet swept through where his head had   
been. His blood-slicked knife was clenched in his fist, and he, in   
turn, lunged at his target.  
  
Akane had closed her eyes on the swing, being so used to having Ranma   
under the mallet's head. When the expected resistance of wood meeting   
flesh did _not_ happen, she paused. She blinked, her eyes open, just in   
time to see Jei's lunge. Her shriek pierced the air one again, and she   
stumbled backwards. The knife tore through her shirt, ripping upwards   
as it sunk into her left breast. Another scream rent the air as Akane   
tried to pull away, as Farfello attempted to drive the knife through   
his victim's heart.  
  
"Ranma!" Nabiki was trying to get past Yohji and Omi to free her   
sister, "Ranma! Stop him!"  
  
"Why should I?" Ranma's voice was airy as he watched Jei tear into his   
former fiancee, "She's tried to kill _me_ since I met her!"  
  
Yohji grit his teeth. He was finding new reasons to hate Ranma every   
moment. His own Farfello-given wound throbbed, as did the rest of his   
body from the beating Ranma had given him. Still, he'd worked through   
worse, and so he left Nabiki in Omi's care.  
  
His wire looped around Farfello's throat, and he yanked back. While   
Farfello couldn't register the pain of the attack, he could recognize   
that he couldn't breath, as any other man would. Jei released the knife   
to claw at the wire cutting off his air passage.  
  
Akane was pulling the blade out, unheeding of anything but the   
desperate panic of getting the blade away from her. Ranma only tossed   
her a cursory glance as he leapt at Yohji. The ki claws slipped into   
the two inch length he could summon when angered-- and not fully lost   
to the madness. They tore through the wire, and Jei stumbled forwards,   
with a heavy rasping gasp of air.   
  
Snarling, Ranma once again turned on Yohji. The older man cursed in his   
mind, as he attempted, painfully, to dodge the martial artist's attack.  
  
Nabiki had rushed to her sister's side when Yohji attacked Jei. She   
had, with an extreme lack of modesty, ripped her robe off, to cover   
Akane's gushing wounds. The young mercenary had _not_ seen Ranma's own   
response. The first inkling she had of it was when she was forcibly   
thrown out of the way-- landing on Omi.  
  
Farfello snatched his knife up again, bringing it down in what would be   
a fatal blow-- right through the stunned and bleeding girl's exposed   
throat. Unfortunately, something got in the way-- Nabiki's leg. The   
brunette gave a shrill scream, as the blade pierced her leg, having   
swung it in the way, from where she'd sat on Omi.  
  
The knife blade scraped the bone before Jei yanked it free. A feral   
grin crossed his face, "If you want to die _now_ fine with me..."  
  
"Leave my sister alone!" Despite practically bleeding to death, Akane   
slammed her knee up and into Farfello's gut. As usual, the pain didn't   
register, and he merely growled in response to the attack. Again, the   
blade leapt forwards, Akane dragging her arms up to block the attack.   
It ripped through the skin of her arms and he slashed again, and again.   
Omi and Nabiki pounded on him, trying to drag him away form the   
youngest Tendou.  
  
After a few dozen bleeding tracks appeared in Akane's arms, Jei pulled   
back. Wearily, she dropped her arms, ready to put them back up if he   
came at her again. However, Jei was faster. Even _with_ Nabiki and Omi   
on each arm, the blade glinted darkly as it flashed through the air,   
and sliced through her face.  
  
Her right eye would be forever useless, should she survive the massive   
blood loss from her wounds combined. The blade had scraped the bone of   
her skull-- had, in fact, left a craved track _in_ the bone-- and the   
slash ran from scalp to jaw bone on an angle.  
  
With a satisfied grin, Farfello savored the sound of her tortured   
scream. Bounding to his feet, the madman threw Omi off-- Nabiki having   
let go to race to tend to her sister's wounds again. He licked the   
blood off his blade, turning on his heel to pad outside. The second   
battle between Yohji and Ranma had come to an end out there.  
  
Yohji lay, face first and unconscious, on the ground. Ranma had broken   
Yohji's arm with a throw-- the one that had sent the playboy outside--   
and most likely cracked a few ribs when he'd been body-slammed into the   
ground.  
  
Ranma hauled Yohji up by the back of his jacket, bearing his claws. He   
was ready to finish the man off.  
  
... when the man vanished.  
  
Both men spun around, searching for whoever took the unconscious   
playboy. It was Ranma who spotted the savior. Khu Lon set the man down   
on the Tendou roof, having originally thought the man was a woman, with   
his hair; it was the only reason she'd bothered to save him. Xian Phu   
dropped into a defensive crouch in front of Farfello. She could still   
feel his kick from earlier that night.  
  
"What do you want, Shampoo?"  
  
Jei's eyes narrowed at Ranma's words. So _this_ was Xian Phu's human   
form. _This_ was the girl who wanted to steal Farfello's property. The   
knife, of which had been held loosely in his fingers, was suddenly held   
in a white knuckled grip. He was growling.  
  
"Airen come to Shampoo, yes? Airen let Shampoo take care of Bad   
One-Eye, yes?"   
  
"No," Ranma snorted, "I won;'t. But I _will_ let Jei-sama deal with   
_you_"  
  
Farfello lunged, blade searing the air as it ripped through where the   
young Nyucheuzu girl _had_ been. She was a better martial artist--   
faster, too-- than Akane, and wasn't injured. She darted between   
thrusts of the knife. No matter how many times her bonbori hit him, he   
didn't stop. Khu Lon frowned, and Omi came running out from the   
kitchen. The seventeen year old cursed, then shouted, "Get away from   
him! He _can't_ feel pain!"  
  
The amazon matriarch froze, then repeated Omi's warning to her   
great-granddaughter. This time, the female warrior didn't ignore it, as   
it wasn't just something a mere male shouted at her. She backed off,   
bouncing to the roof, beside her great-grandmother, "Why Shampoo stop,   
Hibaa-chan?"  
  
"The man is unable to feel pain. You can't just hurt him-- you must   
_kill_ him."  
  
"Yes, Hibaa-chan!"  
  
However, by this time the blare of sirens was drawing closer. Neither   
Ranma nor Farfello were up for being arrested, they quickly hightailed   
it out of the Tendou-ke. Farfello left the amazons with a warning,   
"Next time, you die."  
  
---  
  
Rache collapsed into the futon in her apartment with a sigh. The young   
woman scrubbed her forehead irritably. She had gotten next to no sleep   
over the past few days-- since _before_ Ken's "kidnaping". She was   
tired and cranky, and her mind just _wouldn't_ shut off.  
  
"Damn," she growled, "It's times like this I wish I had Schu's   
telepathy. I could just annoy some kid on the street, then."  
  
Hauling herself back up, the redhead paced her floor for a few minutes.   
At about five minutes into her pointless pacing, Rache's face broke   
into a grin, "I can _still_ annoy someone!"  
  
With a gleeful cackle, Rache picked through her belongings. Her   
landlord-- Kino-- was about to get a nasty surprise.  
  
---  
  
The boy sat there, calmly licking one hand as he balanced on his   
haunches. There were small scratches decorating his throat, about the   
collar. The leather was scratched and almost broken through by the time   
Jei returned to Kitty's "cage".  
  
Kitty's hackles rose, and he hissed at the reason behind his captivity.   
The amber-eyed Irish boy stared into his pet's eyes, before dropping a   
bird carcass into the cage. Cautiously, the eight-year-old padded   
closer, sniffing at the meat. When he found nothing amiss, the boy sunk   
his teeth into the still warm body, pulling back.  
  
"Kitty's been good," Jei declared suddenly, watching the feral child   
crunching the bird in his jaws. He stepped forwards, pulling the boards   
apart, and grabbing Kitty's chain. Once the bird had been eaten, Jei   
dragged Kitty out of his cage.  
  
"Have to get you a new collar," Jei muttered, looking down at the once   
brand new leather collar. It looked ready to fall apart.  
  
---  
  
Ranma was leaning against the outer wall of the Kunou mansion as the   
sun rose. He was asleep, dozing with his ankles and arms crossed, head   
bent. Farfello was no where in sight, as Reiji's limousine pulled out   
of the mansion. For a moment, the car paused, as though wondering if it   
should stop to pick the boy up, before driving away.  
  
Ranma didn't notice, as entrapped in his sleep as he was. An hour and a   
half later, he jerked awake to the _lovely_ sound of Schuldich's mental   
voice.  
  
/Morning Bishoujo./  
  
"Don't call me that," Ranma grunted, prying his eyes open, "Huh? I'm   
still at the mansion."  
  
/Reiji left you and Farf behind,/ Ranma could _feel_ the smirk,   
/Something about causing problems...?/  
  
The martial artist snorted, tucking his hands into his pockets, after   
swinging his pack on his back, and wandered off in search of his best   
friend/master, /Kunou deserved it./  
  
/He'll never be able to use that arm properly, again, Bishoujo.   
Crippled for life./  
  
/Like I said,/ Ranma huffed, /He deserved it./ Where _is_ Jei-sama? He   
hadn't seen the man since he'd decided he was going to search Nerima.   
Ranma had figured he'd just go back to the Kunou mansion and be   
prepared to leave.  
  
/You two get into anymore trouble after _that_ mess?/ While it was   
getting easier to read Kitty's mind, it was still tougher than a normal   
human's. Ranma chuckled.  
  
/Akane probably didn't survive the night, once Jei-sama was done with   
her, Nabiki will never be able to walk without a limp, and Kudou got   
his ass handed to him./  
  
/Weiss?/ Schuldich frowned to himself, /What was Weiss doing there?/  
  
/Nabiki and Tsukiyono know each other,/ Ranma shrugged, /Can you find   
Jei-sama for me?/  
  
A laugh came across the mental link, /And turn _myself_ into a raving   
lunatic? Danke, but nien. You're on your own, Bishoujo./ The man began   
to pull away from the teen's mind, when he stopped, /Bradley says   
you'll find Farfie outside the Nekohanton./  
  
/Tell Crawford thanks,/ Ranma's voice was a bit hurried. He should have   
known Jei would go after his so-called "wife". With a burst of speed,   
Ranma shot forwards, bounding to the roofs in the direction of the   
Nekohanton.  
  
Xian Phu wasn't all that bad, actually. If she'd get over the stupid   
kiss-of-death/kiss-of-marriage thing, and got away from Khu Lon, she'd   
probably be pretty nice. It wasn't that Khu Lon was evil, per say,   
merely old fashioned.  
  
Although, the same could be said about Genma-- if you switched old   
fashioned with "greedy bastard." In any case, Ranma didn't want Xian   
Phu _dead_... maybe a little _maimed_ to get those stupid laws out of   
her head though.  
  
Maimed was okay.  
  
He dropped down off the roofs in time to see Jei get blasted through   
the front window of the restaurant. Khu Lon pogoed out, followed by   
Xian Phu. The younger amazon was limping, and bleeding from various   
wounds, although none were as bad as Akane's had been. Khu Lon must   
have interfered.  
  
Khu Lon's staff lashed out to slamm Farfello again; and this time, it   
was Ranma who interfered. The staff was clapped between both hands   
before it got close to his Jei-sama.   
  
The pale-haired assassin pulled free a new knife -- the other having   
been lost somewhere within the Nekohanton. He drew himself up, and   
threw himself in Khu Lon's direction. Xian Phu's bonbori rammed into   
his gut, and he whirled to face her. Red eyes[1] met amber, and the   
pair shot into motion. No matter how many times she slammed her bonbori   
into his body, he kept coming. While the majority of his wild slashes   
were turned aside.  
  
Khu Lon threw Ranma away from her, but he flipped in mid-air, pushing   
off the front window of the building across the street, and raced   
forwards. The matriarch swung her staff like a baseball bat, but Ranma   
was a master of mid-air combat.  
  
He twisted, dropping low enough to the ground to brace himself with one   
hand, and swung his legs around-- his left knee caught her in the   
chest, the right in her face.  
  
Jei's blade slashed out, once, twice, three times, the early morning   
light flashing across it. Another slash blocked by the bonbori-- but   
this time, Farfello kicked out, catching her in the gut. Xian Phu   
stumbled back with a grunt, barely getting to her feet before Jei was   
on her.  
  
This time his attacks hit home-- digging rivers of blood across arms   
and chest. He was trying for what would mean death for her-- her neck.  
  
Khu Lon hooked Ranma's leg with her staff, sweeping his feet out from   
under him. Before his hands could touch and send him into a back flip,   
Khu Lon's staff flashed again, sending him careening into Farfello.  
  
As this was happening, Jei had found the perfect opportunity. He   
started to stab the amazon, when Ranma hit. The two men went down in a   
tangle of limbs, and the stab became a slash. Again, Xian Phu stumbled   
backwards, this time holding her throat in shock. Blood was pooling   
between her fingers.  
  
The eldest of the elders looked over to her great-granddaughter, and   
cursed. At a speed only ki-empowered, ancient martial artists on   
adrenaline, could achieve, Khu Lon lifted the girl into her arms, and   
ran in the direction of the Nerima District hospital, cradling her   
bleeding descendant.  
  
Ranma and Farfello untangled themselves, although Jei kept a possessive   
hand on Kitty's shoulder. The ebony-haired martial artist sighed, "I   
should go back to the Koneko, Jei-sama..."  
  
  
End  
  
  
[1]Are Shampoo's eyes red? I can't remember, and the only picture I   
have of her on my hard drive isn't clear enough, but they look red. 


	17. Changes

Pfft. I was listening to Saiyuki mp3s while typing this up. I was also   
_watching_ Saiyuki videos instead of writting this chapter, and that   
would explain why this is late _and_ why I did so poorly on my math   
"midterm"...  
  
It's not taken at midterm, so why's it called a midterm?  
  
Well, I can't remember who it was, but they wanted this, so I'm giving   
it to them *gringringrin*  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Sixteen: Changes  
Li Xiang  
  
  
Ranko ran her fingers through her hair, entering the Koneko from the   
back entrance. It was still early, as she entered the kitchen, to the   
sight of Aya and Ken seated at the table.   
  
"Morning," she called to them cheerfully, and they raised their heads.   
The solemn look on Aya's face was normal-- the one on Ken's was not.   
Ranko frowned, "Something wrong?"  
  
It was Ken who spoke, "Omi and Yohji called from the hospital. Nabiki's   
sister was nearly killed last night."  
  
"But you already knew that," came Aya's monotone, "You were there, were   
you not, Ranma?"  
  
"Whatever are you talking about," Damn. The Twit twins must have told   
them. Ranko found herself as _him_self. Ken dropped the glass of hot   
water he'd picked up from it's resting place near where his hand had been.   
  
"Damn," Siberian muttered, "I thought I left this shit behind a long   
time ago..."  
  
"Why did you keep this from us?" Farfello's words were coming back to   
Aya. 'She won't, but he will'. This, obviously, had been what the   
sociopath Irishman had meant. Ranma's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Would _you_ tell everyone you've just met that _you_ had a   
sex-changing curse?"  
  
"No," Aya conceded defeat after a moment, then scowled, "How did   
Farfello know?"  
  
Ranma gave him a flat-eyed stare. Aya found himself, inexplicitly,   
blushing. It was a 'what kind of idiot _are_ you' stare. "Schuldich."  
  
"Right in one, Abyssian!" the ebony-haired martial artist grinned   
widely. In a moment, the grin became a pout, "You're not going to kick   
me out, are you?"  
  
Ken and Aya stared at the pouting sixteen year old, then at each other,   
Ken's stare was one of 'what should we do?'. Aya sighed and felt like   
sulking. Ranko-- or rather, Ranma-- was doing something to him. He   
didn't know what it was, only that it was happening, and he wasn't too   
sure if he didn't like it.  
  
"No... we aren't kicking you out."  
  
"Yay!" Ranma did the standard, 'Little Kid Happy Dance' before   
beginning a search of the cupboards, "I'm hungry!"  
  
"You're always hungry," Ken muttered, watching the younger teen tear   
around the kitchen in search of the ever-elusive food. Aya shook his   
head, then stood up.  
  
"We've still got work. Ranko-- uh, Ranma... change back to female, when   
you've eaten. You're helping."  
  
Ken, too, stood, and Ranma tried the attack that had always, _always_,   
worked on him. The dreaded Puppy-Dog Eyes. Aya _stared_ at the boy,   
before turning and exiting. Ranma turned to Ken, "How the hell did he   
do that? That one always gets me!"  
  
"Aya's made of sterner stuff," Ken snorted, before following the Weiss   
leader out. Ranma was left in the kitchen alone, a bag of store-bought   
cookies in hand.  
  
---  
  
Ranma-- Ranko?-- twirled a pen around her fingers as she sat at the   
counter. It was midday, and with both Aya and Ken on lunch break-- not   
to mention Omi and Yohji were still at Nerima District Hospital-- the   
shop was all but empty. Life was boring. She wanted something to do.  
  
"Ask and ye shall receive," came a familiar voice. Ranma looked   
up to find Schuldich and Rache standing in front of her. The two   
redheaded Germans were wearing identical grins. Rache hopped up on the   
counter.  
  
"Schu said you let Jei kill your fiancée."  
  
"Ex-fiancée," Ranma shrugged, "And she's alive, unfortunately. Clinging   
to life just barely, though. Kudou and Tsukiyono are with the   
Tendou family at the hospital."  
  
Rache nodded, looking faintly relieved, then turned her gaze on the   
Koneko, "Nice place. To many plants for my tastes..."  
  
"Still having problems with your landlord?"  
  
She grinned, "At the moment, no. I played a trick on her last night."  
  
"Kleine Schwester[1]..." Schuldich sighed, "Sometimes, Rache, you do   
the most despicable things."  
  
She shrugged, then went through her duster's pockets. After a few   
minutes of searching, she gave a happy crow, lifting the plastic   
card into the air, "One credit card for one Xue Shi, less several   
million yen."  
  
"So you bought the warehouse?"  
  
"And furnishings," Schuldich snorted, "Rache decided she was going to   
make each room for a specific person. Made me go through all their   
minds to find out what they wanted-- and believe me, breaking through   
Crawford's shields without him noticing is not the easiest thing to do   
in the world."  
  
Ranma hiked a ruby eyebrow, "I'm going to guess on this.. Did you max   
out my card?"  
  
Rache blushed, "Uhm... well... yes?"  
  
Ranma had to sigh. She had expected that-- Rache was a woman, after   
all, and therefore well verse in the habit of shopping. The martial   
artist tapped her pen against the counter, "Don't worry about it, Naru.   
In any case, when do you think Schwartz can move in?"  
  
"A week, at least," Rache pulled her legs up to her chin, "While we've   
got electricity and running water, nothing else has been hooked up.   
Schu and I were wondering if you'd like to come help...?"  
  
"Right now?" the cursed one frowned, "I'm kind of working..."  
  
"The when Abyssian and Siberian return," Schuldich smirked, glancing at   
the door to the Koneko's living area, "You're coming with us."  
  
Ranma pouted, "So I'm just unpaid muscle to you?"  
  
"Un," Rache giggled, "Just a pack mule for us to burden with menial,   
physical labor." She patted the other girl on the head, patronizing   
smirk spreading across her features, as Ranma caught the offending hand.  
  
"Schuldich!" the trio of redheads turned to see Ken standing in the   
door. The assassin felt suddenly uneasy as the German man's gaze fell   
on him. There was something in those jade eyes that creped him out.  
  
Hidaka took a step back, before steeling his nerve. It was just a side   
effect of Schuldich's mind games. He _wasn't_ scared of him! The fact   
that Schuldich had suddenly smirked didn't really register-- mostly due   
to the telepathic voice echoing in the back of his mind, /Definitely   
_not_ afraid of me, hmm...?/  
  
Smirk firmly in place, Schuldich sidled up to his quarry's side.   
Rache-- hand still in Ranma's grip-- frowned, and the gender shifter   
snickered. Ken suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights.   
Schuldich had draped his arm over the teenager's shoulders, leaning   
close enough to breath into his ear.  
  
No words made their way out of Schuldich's mouth, before Ken had shot   
away from him, and was hiding behind both counter and Ranma. The   
martial artist looked at the boy using her as a shield, "What _are_ you   
doing?"  
  
Ken blinked a few times. He was... hiding behind Ranma as Schuldich   
padded forwards, pouting. Pouting?! Why in the world was Schuldich   
_pouting_ at him?  
  
"I think you made großer Bruder[2] upset," Rache snickered, "He looks   
about to cry!"  
  
"Why are _you_ here?" Aya's chilling monotone cut through the air, and   
again, they looked up. His violet eyes were locked on Schuldich, but it   
was Rache who answered.  
  
"Just returning Kitty's credit card," she shrugged, "and visiting."  
  
Aya glared, and Ranma rolled her eyes, "Cool off, Aya. Or have you   
forgotten that only a few _days_ ago, you were goofing off with him in   
the park?"  
  
Ken _stared_ at his leader. Apparently Omi and Yohji had failed to tell   
him what their leader had been doing the night of his kidnapping, "You   
were _what_?"  
  
Aya had the grace to look ashamed, although it was offset a moment   
later via a sharp glare in Ranma's direction. The redhead gave him her   
'infuriating asshole' smirk, in return.   
  
The sound of Aya's teeth grinding was almost loud enough to be heard in   
Eastern Canada.  
  
Schuldich snickered a bit, folding hi hands behind his head and leaning   
on the counter, "Anyways, Katzchen, we're taking bishoujo to be our   
labour-slave for awhile."  
  
Ranma made a face, "I'm no one's slave."  
  
"Oh? Rache hiked an eyebrow, "You sure _act_ like Irish's slave."  
  
"Whatever" Ranma snorted, flipping over the counter, and depriving Ken   
of his shield. The assassin 'eeped', ducking behind the counter, in an   
attempt to hide from his (German) redheaded tormentor. Kitty turned the   
'kawaii' factor on full, turning to face Aya. As she happened to be   
female at that moment, he had a smaller resistance to The Look, "Come   
with us? We could use some extra hands..."  
  
"Aya, don't!" Ken whined from where he was hiding. Aya was frowning--   
since Ranma had let Jei maul Akane and injure Nabiki, their tentative   
contract with the middle Tendou had been voided. That meant he didn't   
have to watch over 'Ranko' anymore. However, Ranma was still _living_   
with Weiss, and therefore, capable of getting Schwartz hard copies of   
information. As well, this was a chance for Aya to find out where   
Schwartz lived.  
  
Besides, he'd had fun when he was goofing around with Schuldich and   
Ranma. He hadn't had fun like that sine Aya-chan's accident.  
  
His voice was still rather icy, although Ranma could swear she saw his   
eyes light up at the prospect, when he answered, "The Koneko won't run   
efficiently with just the two of us, Ken. We might as well go."  
  
"B... but Aya!" Ken hopped to his feet, "It's probably a trap and...   
and..." Ken's voice trailed off as he was subjected to Ranma's   
Puppy-Dog eyes. Even though he _knew_ Ranma was in reality, _male_, the   
marital artist was, at least in this form, undeniably female at the   
moment. Many a man has tried to overpower the kawaii-girl puppy-dog   
look with sheer willpower. Many a man has failed.  
  
Ken was no exception as he found himself facing the Puppy-Dog look at   
full power.  
  
---  
  
Yohji winced as he dropped into the chair, across from Omi. He was   
_really_ feeling the pain of duking it out with Ranma. Black and blue   
all over from the blows he'd been dealt, not to mention the broken arm   
he bore. His ribs _hadn't_ been cracked, thank-god, but they'd been   
close. Right now, they were taped with infinite care.  
  
"Did you get a hold of them?"  
  
The playboy shook his head, "Nothing. Either they're ignoring the   
phone-- which I _doubt_ Ken would do-- or they're not at the Koneko. I   
called Manx and asked if she could go over and check," he paused,   
"How's Akai or whatever her name is...?"  
  
"Akane," came Nabiki's dull, lifeless voice, "is currently in intensive   
care. Despite all odds, she survived the night, but she'd in a coma."  
  
The words of Tendou Soun's wailing suddenly made perfect sense.  
  
---  
  
Five hours of back breaking labor is a pair in the ass, Ranma growled   
to himself, stretching and popping his pine back in place. While he and   
Aya had ended up hauling boxes of shit around the warehouse, and in   
the process put an extreme amount of stress on their bones, Schuldich   
and Ken had been playing. The game had been, apparently,   
hide-and-go-seek, Ken was always hiding, and Schuldich always seeking.  
  
Between her Barking of The Orders to "her slaves", Rache found the   
game absolutely hilarious.   
  
Ken popped up from nowhere-- only Ranma noting that he'd phased through   
a wall to escape Schuldich. His arms wrapped around Aya's legs, "Aya!   
Can we leave, yet?!" he'd whined this question at every chance he got,   
but _this_ time he tagged something else on the end, "It's eight   
o'clock! C'mon!"  
  
"Eight?" Ranma's face paled, "Have I been working for _seven_ hours?!"  
  
"Yeah," Rache's teasing grin vanished as Ranma began to curse-- rather   
fluently-- in English, Gaelic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Polish, Russian,   
German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. Schuldich sidled up next   
to his sister.  
  
"Don't be surprised. The swears are pretty much all he knows of most   
languages-- he's been called all of them, after all."  
  
"Schuldich!" Ranma pounced on the redhead and Aya felt an inexplicable   
surge of jealousy, "You've got a car, right? You can get me to Tamachi   
in twenty minutes, right?"  
  
"What's the deal, Ranma?" Rache turned a curious eye on her ally, "Why   
Tamachi?"  
  
"Xue Shi has a performance in twenty," he stated as way of explanation.   
The two German nodded in understand, but Ken and Aya were confused.  
  
"I didn't figure you for a groupie," Ken muttered, eyeing Ranma.   
Groupies tended to dress in _normal_ clothing, not silk. The redheaded   
siblings wore matching smirks, and Ranma snorted.  
  
"We can explain on the way if you want to come. Right now, we have to   
_go!_"  
  
---  
  
The band refused to play concerts. They _never_ played for anything   
large than a club. Akira was trying to fix that, but it was a hard job.   
It was quite literally, a miracle that he'd even convinced Xue Shi to   
record-- and she kept finding ways to skip out on it. It was enough to   
make a manager rip out his hair.  
  
And now, she was nowhere to be seen. Those who'd managed to get   
tickets to the gig were getting antsy. Xue Shi was ten minutes overdue.   
In the two years he'd been managing her and the bad, she had never been   
late to a gig. Practices, sure, but never a gig. He was biting his   
nails and praying to a god he doubted would listen, that a miracle   
would happen.  
  
With a muffled wail of despair, he sent the band out. Hopefully a few   
minutes of grace would be bought as they set up.  
  
Fei Li's fingers twitched on the strings of his bass guitar. His head   
was bowed, so silken black hair fell into his face, and hid the   
panicked look in his eyes. He'd always felt like the only reason the   
fans tolerated him was because of Xue Shi. He hated the feeling of   
being unwanted, and most of Xue Shi's fans made him feel like that.   
  
Nobuyuki sat stiffly in his seat, the drumsticks twirling around deft   
fingers. The only hint of his nervousness was his bouncing leg, and the   
fact he was practically chewing through his bottom lip.   
  
Oz didn't really look nervous. Although, that might have something to   
do with his eternal laid-back look. Some critics assumed he was stoned   
99% of the time. But Oz was nervous. The entire time he'd been in Japan   
had been spent playing guitar in one band or another, having only   
recently joined up with Xue Shi. And there had always, _always_ been a   
singer to take the attention off of him.   
  
Oz didn't play so well when he thought everyone was watching him, and   
him alone.  
  
His head snapped up as the overhead fans brought a familiar-- and very   
welcome-- scent to his nose. Sharp eyes peered out from under neon blue   
bangs, searching the crowd for a familiar head of blood red hair.  
  
This wasn't so easy-- a lot of Xue Shi's fans had dyed their hair red   
for the gig. He was searching for a particular shade when a hand shot   
out of the crowd. Around it were three other redheads-- apparently   
natural, seeing as their eyebrows were red, too. One man had deep   
crimson hair, the other an orangish flame red, and a woman with a shade   
of red that looked to be only a few shades closer to brown. Xue Shi   
stood in front of them, and the brunette to her left looked...   
familiar, but Oz couldn't place him.  
  
With a wild grin, Xue Shi used her fingers as a count down. Five...   
four... three... two... one...  
  
Oz started the opening riff to "By Myself"  
  
It was almost automatic for the boys to start in with him at their   
"proper" place. Xue Shi's voice rang out.  
  
"What do I do to ignore them behind me?  
Do I/follow my instincts blindly?  
Do I hide my pride/from these bad dreams  
And give into sad thoughts that are maddening?"  
  
The crowd seemed to turn in on itself, looking for Xue Shi-- and she   
crouched, then pushed off, flipping over their heads to land elegantly   
on the stage, singing all the while.  
  
"Do I/sit here and try to stand it?  
Or do I/try to catch them red handed?  
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness  
or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?"  
  
Xue Shi's grin split her face in half as she picked up the mike, and   
the nervousness seemed to flow out of her band-mates. Fei Li began to   
sing along with her.  
  
"Because I can't hold on  
When I'm stretched so thin  
I make the right moves but I'm lost within  
I put on my daily facade but then   
I just end up getting hurt again  
By Myself"  
  
Nobuyuki: Myself!  
  
Xue Shi: I ask Why  
Oz: But in my Mind   
I find  
Xue Shi: I can't rely on myself!  
  
Nobuyuki: Myself!  
  
Xue Shi: I ask Why  
Oz: But in my Mind   
I find  
Xue Shi: I can't rely on myself!  
  
Fei Li: I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
Fei Li: It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To anything watching everything spin  
Fei Li: With thoughts of failure sinking in.  
  
"If I/Turn my back I'm defenseless  
And to Go blindly seems senseless  
If I hide My pride and let it all go on  
Then they'll/take from me till everything is gone  
If I/let them go I'll be outdone  
But If I/try to catch them I'll be outrun."  
  
"If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer  
Then I'll be buried in the Silence of the Answer"  
  
Nobuyuki: Myself!  
  
Xue Shi: I ask Why  
Oz: But in my Mind   
I find  
Xue Shi: I can't rely on myself!  
  
Nobuyuki: Myself!  
  
Xue Shi: I ask Why  
Oz: But in my Mind   
I find  
Xue Shi: I can't rely on myself!  
  
Fei Li: I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
Fei Li: It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To anything watching everything spin  
Fei Li: With thoughts of failure sinking in.  
  
Fei Li, again, sung along with Xue Shi.  
  
"How do you think/I've lost so much  
I'm so afraid/I'm out of touch  
How do you expect/I will know what to do  
When all I know/Is what you tell me to.  
  
Don't you [Nobuyuki: Know!]  
I can't tell you how to make it [Nobuyuki: Go!]  
No matter what I do. How hard I [Nobuyuki: Try!]  
I can't seem to convince myself [Nobuyuki: Why!]  
I'm stuck on the outside.  
  
Don't you [Nobuyuki: Know!]  
I can't tell you how to make it [Nobuyuki: Go!]  
No matter what I do. How hard I [Nobuyuki: Try!]  
I can't seem to convince myself [Nobuyuki: Why!]  
I'm stuck on the outside."  
  
Fei Li: I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
Fei Li: It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To anything watching everything spin  
Fei Li: With thoughts of failure sinking in.  
  
Fei Li: I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
Fei Li: It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on  
Xue Shi: To anything watching everything spin  
Fei Li: With thoughts of failure sinking...  
  
As the song came to a close, Xue Shi signaled for the band to quiet,   
"Sorry for the gig starting late. So... anyone up for some reaaaally   
sappy songs?"  
  
There were a number of boos -- Xue Shi normally didn't play   
that sort of music, and had quite often rebuffed such styles in the   
rare interviews she did-- and one loud, derisive laugh. The martial   
artist-come-singer rolled her eyes, "I get it, I get it. Would the one   
who laughed, come here?"  
  
Schuldich chuckled again, pushing others out of the way and making a   
show of it as he approached the stage. Rache, Aya and Ken followed at a   
more sedate pace, "Hello bishoujo."  
  
"Schuldich..." she was smiling cheerfully, even as her leg snapped out   
to knock him in the chin. The German merely tipped his head to one   
side, and the kick simply stirred his hair, "... be a dear and keep   
your mouth shut."  
  
"The sklave is giving _me_ orders now?"   
  
Xue Shi had to laugh, "I belong to no one, Schuldich, you _know_ that!"  
  
"You sure took orders well this afternoon," Rache smirked. Xue Shi was   
mature. She didn't stick her tongue out, or give Rache the red eye. The   
singer fingered the German girl.  
  
Turning her attention back to the crowd in general, Xue Shi grinned,   
"Here's a new one for me...  
Tachidomatte'ru   
Kimi no senaka wa  
Sabishige na mama   
Boku wo toraeru  
Kimagure na ai de tsutsumitai  
  
Shinjirarenai   
Kotoba bakari ga  
Egao no naka de   
Kiba wo muite'ru  
Sono kakera ni ai wo sagashite'ru  
  
Itsuka wagamama na   
Utagoe ga kimi ni todoite  
Sonna shunkan ni   
Kono sekai wa kawatte yuku  
  
Nani wo mitsukete yukou  
Jikan wo kirisaite  
Kimi no soba ni iru yo   
Sore ga yasashisa nara  
  
Nani wo mitsumete iyou  
Sono te wo sashidashite  
Tsukanda genjitsu wo  
Let it go  
Shinjiyou  
  
Tooku wo mite'ru   
Sono manazashi wa  
Kokoro no naka no   
Koe wo kiite'ru  
Mada aoi tsuki wo dakishimete  
  
Hashiri tsudzukeru   
Kimi no tsuyosa ga  
Mata atarashii   
Tobira wo hiraku  
Sugu akeru yoru wo terashidase  
  
Tatoe hitori demo   
Kimi no koto shinjite itai  
Sonna shunkan ni   
Kono sekai wa ugokidasu  
  
Nani wo mitsukete yukou   
Kokoro wo hakidashite  
Mata koko deaeru yo  
Sore ga shinjitsu nara  
  
Nani wo mitsumete iyou  
Sono te wo sashidashite  
Tsunkanda genjitsu wo  
Let it go  
Shinjiyou  
  
Nani wo mitsukete yukou  
Jikan wo kirisaite  
Kimi no soba ni iru yo  
Sore ga yasashisa nara  
  
Nani wo mitsumete iyou  
Sono te wo sashidashite  
Tsukanda genjitsu wo  
Let it go  
Shinjiyou..."  
  
  
  
END  
  
[1]Little Sister  
[2]Big Brother  
Big thanks to Aquila for the help with the German ^-^V  
  
"By Myself" was the hardest part of the chapter.  
  
The other song is "For Real" by Tokuyama Hidenori. It's the opening   
theme to Saiyuki.  
  
Here's a question, next time Xue Shi shows up... should I have her sing   
a Project Wyze song? *grins* Now _that_ would be interesting...   
*wanders off* You want a city apocolpyse, then turn my mic on... 


	18. Healing

An apology to all my readers:  
  
I'm sorry I took so long in getting this out. If you must know,   
Eighteen is also complete, and that will be going up next week, as I   
still need a little leeway to finish chapter nineteen within two   
weeks. Now, for the reasons behind my non-updating...  
  
...well, it's kinda hard to update when you don't have a computer   
connected to the internet. My computer's been on the fritz for the   
last month or so (interestingly, that's when the warrenty ran out...),   
and it finally just stopped working about two weeks ago. I got it back   
from the shop last night (Saturday, June 08) and have been trying to   
catch up on the four roleplay games I'm in, not to mention Legions (my   
comic), and trying to complete the creeping update of the StoryTeller.  
  
That said, hopefully things will cool off soon, as this is my last   
week of classes, before exams, and I can do some serious   
not-so-quality writting. At least, when compared to really, really,   
really awesome writers, who are not me. (I will admit I write good, I   
just atribute it to my prereaders who are most awesome in their job.)  
  
I've babbled enough. On to the story!  
  
...Oh, yeah, anyone else wanna preread for me? Prereaders are gods,   
and besides, I need one 'cause mine's gone on vacation for the next   
couple months...  
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Seventeen: Healing  
Li Xiang   
  
  
Khu Lon stood on her staff, staring into the face of her great   
granddaughter. The girl was out cold, and looked so frail, with all   
the tubes and wires coming from her. The girl's neck was bandaged--   
thank the goddess that Jei had missed the arteries. But Xian Phu was   
all but useless now.  
  
She'd live, but she would be forever mute. Jei had cut her vocal   
cords.  
  
The old woman sighed heavily, then turned to leave the unconscious   
girl in the bed. She'd tell the nurses who should be contacted for   
Xian Phu's care on the way out.  
  
For now, she had to find Muu Tzu. Xian Phu's death -- in the eyes of   
the tribe-- would be avenged. Jei would die, as would all those who   
stood with him.  
  
Including Ranma.[1]  
  
---  
  
Yohji blinked his tired eyes as the door to the Koneko slammed shut.   
When he and Omi had returned-- leaving the Tendou's alone in the   
hospital-- they found the Koneko empty. Dishes from lunch on   
the counter, unwashed, and several flower arrangements incomplete.   
Omi had gone to his room to sleep, but Yohji had remained awake to   
wait for his teammates. He'd fallen asleep sometime around one.  
  
Three figures entered the kitchen, upon noticing the light. Aya   
looked as awake as ever, Ken was ambling along sleepily, yawning   
and...  
  
"What is _he_ doing here?"  
  
Ken got the most adorably cute, sleepily confused look on his face.   
It was wasted because Aya and Yohji were in a staring contest, and   
Ranma-onna was raiding the cupboards again. Shaking his head, Siberian   
ambled off to go to sleep. Hopefully, in the morning, everything   
would make sense.  
  
"Ranko... er Ranma, is living here until his home is finished."  
  
"Dammit Aya! He broke my arm! Almost broke my ribs!"  
  
Ranma snorted, "Personally, you deserved it. But if you're going to   
bitch and moan over it, Naru can fix the damn thing." Yohji and Aya   
shared a brief 'huh?', and Ranma explained further, "Naru's talent.   
She can heal anything alive. S'why her parents put her up for   
adoption."  
  
Aya frowned, "And Schuldich...?"  
  
"When his power matured, he was just kicked out," Ranma shrugged, "At   
least, that's what he told me."  
  
"Whoa, hold it!" Yohji made a time-out sign with his cast, "Since   
when are _you_ buddy-buddy with Schwartz, Aya? I thought you hated   
them!"  
  
The redhead paused for a moment, then shrugged, "I still do." Just   
not as much, was left out of the equation. Ranma gave a snort,   
pushing past the older men, and headed towards the bathroom. She'd   
like to sleep as a man, for once.  
  
Yohji snagged Ranma's sleeve and the currently female martial artist   
debated braking his uninjured arm, "This Naru... can she heal my   
arm?"  
  
"Didn't I say that?"  
  
"I meant _now_, Saotome."  
  
Ranma snorted, "It's three a.m., Kudou. Naru's sleeping. Get a clue,   
moron."  
  
---  
  
Rache actually _hadn't_ made it to bed yet. Yawning, the young woman   
finished shoveling her belongings into a pack similar from Ranma's.   
When she'd returned from the gig, she'd found an eviction notice   
tacked to the door.  
  
Apparently, Kino hadn't liked being awoken at two in the morning   
because her bathroom had flooded.  
  
The German would have been terribly panicked-- had she not had the   
warehouse set up for at least _one_ person. All she had to do was   
move her things into her room at the warehouse. Another yawn slipped   
out, and she shouldered her bag.  
  
Aside from her, the small apartment was empty. Rache _knew_ that by   
the same time the next day, the apartment would have new tenants.  
  
---  
  
Kitty clawed at the collar around his neck, only to feel the sharp   
'SMACK' of a stick hitting his forearms.  
  
Jei held a chain in one hand, a stick in the other as he paraded   
Kitty around the larger Farmer's field near his home. He still didn't   
trust Kitty not to attack him, so he was training the eight year old.  
  
Jei could still feel the crack of his father's leather belt on his   
backside as he did wrong. The sharp crack of his mother's wooden   
spoons on his hands as he tried to steal food from dinner... he'd   
been taught by being hurt when he did wrong. He'd teach Kitty the   
exact same way.  
  
It had been a day and a half since he'd let Kitty out of the   
box/cage. While still rather independent, Kitty learned very quickly   
quickly. He'd already learned that if he didn't want to get hit, he   
had to listen to Jei.  
  
The pale-haired child tugged the chain, leading Kitty out of the   
field. He wanted to see if Kitty would fully obey him, and the   
easiest way would be taking him back into the town. If Kitty didn't   
obey him there, it was back to the field to be retrained.  
  
He didn't drop the stick, merely switching his grip so he held it   
like a walking staff. Kitty followed, head held up proudly at his   
side.  
  
---  
  
Ranma stretched, popping his spine as he did so. His muscles hurt--   
both from the labor he'd performed, as well as the acrobatics during   
the gig. Rolling his shoulders, the martial artist padded down into   
Weiss' meeting room.  
  
Once again, the furniture was moved out of the way, and he began his   
kata.   
  
Twenty minutes into his warm-up, Yohji came pounding down the stairs,   
wincing slightly as his cast bounced against his bruised ribs.  
  
"Rank...ma!"  
  
He didn't stop, "What do you want, Kudou?"  
  
"I want my arm fixed!" the playboy scowled at Ranma's chuckle.  
  
"How do you expect me to do that?"  
  
Yohji glared at the martial artist as he bounced around the room,   
"Your friend. She can fix my arm!"  
  
The martial art gender-bender gave a bark of laughter, coming to a  
stop in front of the eldest of Weiss, "Not if you're going to   
_demand_ I take you to her. I don't respond well to commands."  
  
Yohji gave him a dirty look, opening his mouth to do just that--   
demand-- when a thought struck him. He smirked, "If you take me to   
see this friend of yours... I'll buy you dinner."  
  
A wide, rather evil grin spread across Ranma's face, "You've got   
yourself a deal, Kudou."  
  
---  
  
"Isn't this where Schuldich was holding Ken?"  
  
"Yes," Ranma glared at the playboy. How did he get stuck with this   
moron again? Oh yeah, the promise of food, "Now, shut up, or I'll   
break your working arm, got it?"  
  
A dirty look was the response, and Ranma shoved open the warehouse   
doors, "I don't know where she lives but... NARU! NARU, YOU IN   
HERE?!"  
  
"Fuck," came a groan, and the two men were treated to the sight of a   
blurry-eyed Rache trudging out of her room-- the only one furnished.   
She gave them both angry glares, "Couldn't you have picked a better   
time to come see me then at ten in the morning?! I was up all   
night!!"  
  
"Whatever," Ranma shrugged with a cocky grin, "The playboy here has   
been bitching about me breaking his arm, so I told him you'd heal it."  
  
"... why did you do _that_?"  
  
"Because he was complaining!" Ranma threw his hands up into the air,   
"_I_ never complained about it hurting when _I_ broke a bone or ten!"  
  
"You've also been tortured by your father for longer than you can   
remember," Rache's response was dry. She snagged Yohji by his   
uninjured wrist, pulling him into the warehouse, "I'm not going to   
heal you in broad daylight," she explained tiredly as he made to   
resist.  
  
Ranma snorted, "_I'm_ going to find something _fun_ to do. Later Naru."  
  
"Bye Ranma."  
  
The ebony-haired martial artist vanished, once again utilizing the   
Umi Sen Ken. Neither Yohji nor Rache noticed. The German teenager   
located one of the empty rooms-- well, empty for all except a bed,   
dresser, lights and a phone-- and dragged Yohji in.  
  
"You might feel tired after this-- I know I will-- manipulating   
someone's ki to speed the healing process is a pain in the ass. Very   
tiring, and it's very easy to get lost in the patterns," Rache yawned   
slightly, "It doesn't help that I'm still half asleep. It won't   
affect the outcome, but it will make me pretty much drop off   
immediately."  
  
Yohji gave a slight nod-- he didn't _really_ understand anything   
except that they'd be tired by the end of whatever she was about to   
do. For a moment he wondered if he should trust, just not only the   
sister of a member of Schwartz, but a friend of that lunatic Ranma's,   
then pushed the thought away. Besides this "Naru" was kind of cute.   
And eighteen.  
  
Rache shoved him, and he fell onto the bed. Crawling up on kneel   
beside him, Rache settled her hands on his arm-- one on the cast, one   
above it in the crook of his arm.  
  
Emerald eyes shut; she focused her mind on locating the break   
and fixing it. Fingers brushed over a cast already deluged with   
signatures, before stopping over the actual place of the break. A   
white glow danced around her hands, flicking off her fingertips like   
tiny bolts of lightning.  
  
The energy began to flow faster, suffusing the cast with ambient   
light. Her lips curled into a snarl as she fought with Yohji's ki   
patterns to bring the needed healing energy to his wound from the   
rest of his body.  
  
After nearly ten minutes, Rache collapsed out right, almost asleep as   
she muttered, "Didn't finish..." the German girl curled up there--   
half on, half off Yohji-- and feel into slumber. He, too, felt the   
siren song of sleep as the ki that had been forced into his arm flood   
back into it's normal flows throughout his body.  
  
He gave a yawn, unconsciously draping an arm over Rache and letting   
his fingers curl in shoulder length red locks. His eyes slid shut and   
he too, drifted into sleep.  
  
---  
  
Despite having been cloaked, water still found him. The formerly male   
martial artist sighed, pulling her aura even closer to herself than   
it had been. Xue Shi _was_ and idol singer, after all.  
  
That reminded her-- she still had an appointment with Akira to make a   
CD. She gave a small chuckle at that. Akira was let a chuckle free at   
that. Akira was obsessed with making her world famous.   
  
It took another twenty minutes, but she managed to roof-hop to the   
band's collective apartment. Dropping the Umi-Sen-Ken, she hung   
upside down to knock on the window.  
  
After a few minutes, the window slid open, and Fei Li blinked at his   
guest, "Sushi?"  
  
She rapped her knuckles on his forehead in irritation, "Lemme in,   
Dumbass."  
  
At least she didn't call me Wu Fei, he thought, stepping out of the   
way to allow the singer/martial artist into the apartment, "So, why   
are you here, Xue Shi?"  
  
"I figured I might as well get that recording out of the way."  
  
"Really?!" Akira had thrown the door open, barging in with a   
fanatical look in his eye. Sweatdropping, Xue Shi nodded slowly. A   
split second later, she found herself, and the band, being shoved out   
the door. All the while, Akira was babbling cheerfully about already   
having the instrumentals done, and all they had to do was sing.  
  
---  
  
Nabiki stalked into the Koneko no Sumi Ie, fury blazing in her eyes.   
The sight was thrown off because she was limping slightly, leg   
bandaged, and leaning on a crutch to support her weight.   
  
Her eyes locked on a certain redheaded man, and she grit her teeth,   
"Where is that bastard?!"  
  
Cool violet eyes stared her down from beneath a wild fringe of ruby   
bangs, before the man turned away, "If you're not buying something,   
leave."  
  
"You must be Aya, then," the seventeen-year-old muttered, then   
snapped out, "Where the hell is Ranma?!"  
  
Aya opened his mouth to tell her he didn't know when a thought struck   
him. A rare look of mischief crossed his face, lighting his eyes,   
"Elsewhere.[2]"  
  
"Omi didn't say you were a smartass," she growled, "Where's Ranma?"  
  
"I don't know," Aya's icy glare made her stumble back a step, "He and   
Yohji took off over an hour ago. If you're not going to by   
something... _leave_."  
  
Glaring, the injured girl crossed her arms, "I'm waiting here until   
he comes back." Ooooh, he was going to _pay_ for allowing Akane to be   
hurt. Family or not, Ranma had _no_ right to just stand there   
watching Akane practically get murdered.  
  
---  
  
Ranma-onna was pouring water down her throat... it was so sore...  
  
Damn Akira, she growled to herself, make me sing over and over again.   
Well, at least it's over.  
  
For today, came her snickering, evil inner voice. There were still a   
few songs left to "perfect" as Akira had wanted. It had to be nine at   
night now, "I'm off."  
  
"Where you going?" Nobuyuki looked like he wanted to find the nearest   
keg and just guzzle it.  
  
Ranma smirked, "Have to go pick up a moron I'm living with. He's with   
Naru."  
  
"Naru?"  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes, "Are you on something? Naru's the girl who   
came to the gig with me last night."  
  
"Oh... her! Now I remember!"  
  
Fei Li leaned over to whisper in Oz's ear, "Betcha 600 yen he   
doesn't."  
  
"I'm not taking a loosing bet, Fei."  
  
End  
  
  
[1] Khu Lon has, apparently, forgotten that Ranma took out Saffron,   
when her entire village put together probably couldn't accomplish the   
same feat.  
  
[2] No one but me is allowed to say this. Ever. This is my   
trademarked saying. It has a tendency to piss my mom and little   
brother off. Heh. 


	19. Games

Welcome to Chapter Eighteen.  
  
I still need a prereader. Why has no one volunteered? Have I... Have I   
lost all my readers? *sniffles* NOOOOOOOOO!!!  
  
Eh, yeah, I'm being melodramatic.   
  
I just finished my last exam about three hours ago (at 10:00am, June 20),   
so I'm offically in grade twelve now. *dances* Only one more year of high   
school left, then it's off to some post secondary education place. Either   
an art school or a tech school, but who cares about that? There's still a   
year before then...]  
  
  
False Identity   
Chapter Eighteen : Games  
Li Xiang  
  
Rache stirred into wakefulness, desperately trying to cling to her   
sleep. She hadn't slept so well in _years_. The eighteen-year-old   
snuggled deeper into her pillow, unwilling to get up.   
  
As conscious thought returned to her, Rache froze. There was a weight   
across her shoulders... and she could recall collapsing against Yohji...  
  
Emerald eyes slit open, and Rache found herself curled against Yohji,   
staring at his shirt. Blushing, the redhead looked up into Kudou's   
face-- he was still asleep.  
  
"How cute," came a sarcastic voice, and Rache jerked out of Yohji   
sleep-loosened embrace. Ranma, in female form, was leaning against the   
doorframe. Rache's blush deepened.  
  
"Ah... Ranma... I, uh, collapsed before I finished healing him. This'll   
take just a moment."  
  
She set her hands on the cast again, taking only a moment to find the   
place of the wound. Two minutes of using her ki to finish healing the   
bone to a point where it wouldn't break very easily, and she lifted her   
hands. The glow didn't fade from her fingertips, until after she'd run   
them down the stitches in Yohji's forehead.  
  
Ranma had watched avidly, ki senses on high, trying to figure out how   
she'd done her healing "trick". There was something more than ki flowing   
through Rache when she healed. The ki encased the unknown energy, made   
it easier to wield and control, although the power was wild-- chaotic,   
even.  
  
"Why'd you fix the scar?"  
  
"I healed the skin," Rache sighed, "I'm not very good at healing-- most   
people are afraid of it-- and most wounds I heal leave scars."  
  
"Whatever. I've got to bring Playboy here back to the Koneko, but   
there's no way in hell that I'm going to carry him."  
  
With a wry grin, Rache climbed to her feet, "Then you can check out   
your room here."  
  
The two redheads padded out of the room, and Yohji slit an eye open. A   
faint smile crossed his lips as he lifted his non-cast encased arm to   
rest the back of his head on his hand.  
  
---  
  
Ranma was practically drooling.   
  
There was a bed on one side of the room-- former office, really-- with   
an empty fridge nearby. Tatami mats covered the floor, walls, and even   
ceiling. A punching bag hung in one corner, and a large window was on   
the far wall.  
  
Her room looked like a training room! Excitement thrummed through her   
and she almost giggled. This was so awesome! She could practice whenever   
she wanted, day or night... life was good.  
  
"...can't move in for a couple weeks or so, at last guess," Rache was   
saying, "We need you to get Weiss away from Kritiker, if what Schuu tells   
me is correct."  
  
"Huh? What's Schuldich tell you?"  
  
Rache plopped herself down on the bed, watching as Ranma began a kata,   
bouncing around, and brushing her fingers lightly against the   
warehouse roof-- a good eight meters up. The German girl shrugged, "You   
know that Tsukiyono isn't Omi's _Real_ family name, right?"  
  
"Say what?" No, Ranma hadn't known that...  
  
"You didn't? Oh well, it's not. Omi isn't really named Tsukiyono Omi,   
according to the info Schuu pulled from the minds of Kritiker. _And_   
Kritiker plans on having Omi take out his half-brothers."  
  
"You're shittin' me," Ranma scoffed. Rache snorted.  
  
"Am not. Omi's been trained to kill his family. He's a Takatori,   
after all, even if he doesn't know it," Rache shrugged, "Schuu figures   
that since Schwartz has been charged with protecting Takatori-- and Estet   
wants the _whole_ Takatori family alive-- that means keeping Omi from   
killing his family, and therefore, keep him away from Kritiker."  
  
"And Aya's safe because neither Jei-sama or me want him dead before we   
can figure him out," Ranma nodded in understanding, "Schuldich has the   
hots for Ken, so he'd want Siberian kept safe--"  
  
"You have _got_ to be kidding!"  
  
The two redheads turned to see Yohji standing in the doorway, staring   
at Ranma.  
  
"Kudou."  
  
"Yohji!"  
  
Yohji made a face, "Schuldich likes Ken? Our Ken?"  
  
Rache nodded, "Großer bruder has been infatuated with Hidaka since they   
met, Yohji. He's just doing something about it _now_ because he can."  
  
Ranma's stormy eyes had narrowed sharply, "How much of our conversation   
did you hear, Kudou?"  
  
"That Omi's a Takatori," Yohji frowned here, "How'd _that_ happen?"  
  
"Well," Ranma stated dryly, "Omi's mother spread her legs for Takatori   
and--"  
  
"Ranma!" Rache gave him a startled stare, and the boy-turned-girl   
grinned.  
  
"Hang around Hiroshi and Daisuke for awhile, Naru."  
  
Yohji shot Ranma a glare, then stared at the floor, his emotions   
warring. On one hand, was Weiss staying with Kritiker. Omi would have to   
kill him family-- granted, he didn't _know_ they were family, but family   
was family. On the other, Weiss could get away from Kritiker with   
Schwartz's help. It would leave the corrupt Takatori family still in   
power, though. That would mean more innocent people would die...  
  
"If Weiss went with Schwartz..." Yohji started hesitantly, "...would   
we become part of it?"  
  
"No," Ranma plopped herself onto the bed beside Rache, "Schwartz isn't   
going to last much longer-- they're pulling out of the contracts with   
their current employers, and will 'vanish' much like Weiss will if we   
pull this off." She couldn't believe it! She was actually speaking   
_civilly_ with Kudou?!"  
  
Yohji scratched his chin, "So... it would be possible to still   
eliminate Takatori?"  
  
Rache shrugged, "If you want to, however, up until Weiss leaves   
Kritiker, Schwartz will prevent any attempts, Afterwards, Schu'll agree   
to help as long as it's not Omi sent to kill him family."  
  
"Why's that?" Both Yohji and Ranma looked confused. Rache sighed.  
  
"After he was picked up by Estet, Schuu was sent to kill our parents   
and siblings; that's why he calls himself Schuldich, "The Guilty One". He   
doesn't want to put anyone through that guilt."  
  
Ranma shrugged, "I can understand that. As much as I'd like to run the   
Panda through Mom's katana, I'd feel a bit guilty over killing the   
man who raised me. There's no way in hell I'd lift a hand against   
Ofukuru; she's pretty blood thirty, actually..."  
  
"Probably where you get it," Rache muttered, openly to get smacked   
upside the head, "Ow. Look, Ranma, you and Yohji should return to the   
Koneko soon. It's getting late..."  
  
Ranma nodded, "Alright. See ya Naru. C'mon Playboy."  
  
"Don't call me that!"  
  
"I'll call you whatever I want to, _Playboy_!"  
  
---  
  
Nabiki sat beside Omi, setting her chopsticks down, having finished her   
mean, "I can't believe he's not back yet..."  
  
"Don't be, " Ken smiled widely, "Ranko, er... Ranma, takes off like   
this all the time. She... he and Yohji probably just got into a fight   
again."  
  
"Pfft, ye of little faith," came the snort from the door, "Whatcha   
doing here, Nabiki?"  
  
Ranma-- back in male form-- stood beside Yohji. The lanky assassin   
entered the room with a grin-- cast and stitches gone. There was a scar   
where the cut on his face had been, but his arm looked brand new.  
  
"Ranma..." the teenager in question growled, not even _noticing_   
Yohji's healed state, "You son of a BITCH!! I'll kill you for letting   
Akane get hurt!"  
  
"You can try," Ranma grinned wickedly, "But you can't do anything on   
_that_ leg."  
  
Nabiki glowered at the former freeloader, praying the teen would drop   
dead from the look alone. A smirk spread across her face after a moment,   
"_I_ don't have to kill you. Ryouga will, once he finds out what you   
_let_ happen to Akane!"  
  
"Do you honestly believe _he_ can kill _me_? Nabiki, how easily you   
forget..." Ranma's lips curled into a sinister smile, "... that Ryouga's   
been trying to kill me for two years. He hasn't succeeded yet."  
  
"Ooooh!" Nabiki grit her teeth, "C'mon Omittchi. You're taking me   
home."  
  
The girl tried to stalk out of the room, limping, and Omi followed with   
an apologetic look towards Ranma, that the martial artist ignored.   
Instead, he turned to Ken, "Where's Aya?"  
  
"Out," Ken shrugged, "Don't know where. Why?"  
  
"Doesn't matter," Yohji draped his arm over the nineteen-year-old's   
shoulder, "We can run it by you, to see if you've got any better ideas."  
  
Ken blinked. Yohji and Ranma were getting along? For a moment, he   
wondered if the apocalypse was coming again, before banishing the   
thought. Apocalypses had an annoying habit of being prevented, "...what   
are you talking about?"  
  
"You see," Yohji began, "We've come across some very interesting   
information."  
  
Ranma stuck his hands in his pockets, "An' using' this information   
could end in two ways..."  
  
Ken looked more confused than ever, "Can't you two talk straight?"  
  
"I suppose," Ranma smirked, "but to quote you... I'd rather talk where   
Kritiker can't hear us."  
  
Comprehension dawned, "Ah, big secret, then?"  
  
"Big Secret," Ranma agreed with a nod, "We bring you somewhere to talk   
in private, you finally tell me how you do those tricks of yours, you   
got it?"  
  
"It's a deal," Ken stood, "We'll hafta leave a note for Aya, before we   
go."  
  
The three men left the building ten minutes later, headed for Juuban   
park. When they got there, they settled down beside the lake, Ranma's   
senses on high to detect anyone in hearing range.  
  
"It's about Omi," Yohji began, before Ken could ask, "and Schwartz."  
  
"Omi's got connections to Schwartz?"  
  
Ranma knitted his fingers behind his head, and lay back on the grass,   
"Schwartz-- or rather, Schuldich-- wants to keep Omi from killing his   
brothers."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, Omi's got _brothers_?"  
  
"Yeah," Yohji leaned against a tree, "Omi's a Takatori."  
  
"Wha... what?!"  
  
Ranma nodded staring at the sunset lit sky, "Tsukiyono doesn't know,   
Ken. Schwartz knows, we know, and Kritiker know, but Kritiker doesn't   
know that we know."  
  
"Where does Schwartz come into this," Ken settled for sitting down   
between the other two, "You said it had to do with Schwartz."  
  
"We need to make a clean cut with Kritiker. Leave them behind-- if we   
do that, Schwartz agrees to step out of the way, and we can do whatever   
we want to Takatori," Yohji explained with a tight smile.   
  
Ranma's lips quirked, "And Omi's not allowed to go anywhere near   
Takatori with the intent to kill."  
  
"You made a deal with Schwartz? How do you know we can trust them not   
to kill all of us-- well, you, I know, Ranma-- but what about Weiss?"   
Ken was chewing his bottom lip nervously. He was _positive_ Farfello   
would try to kill him at first chance.  
  
Yohji had to suppress a smirk, "Aya won't get killed until _after_   
Farfello and Ranma here figure him out, Omi won't get killed because he's   
a Takatori and Schwartz' employers want _all_ Takatori's alive, and you   
won't get killed because Schuldich likes you."  
  
"Likes to torment me, you mean[1]," Ken muttered, "What about you,   
Yohji?"  
  
"Naru won't let him get killed," Ranma rolled his eyes, "Now Ken... you   
get to tell me _and_ Yohji how you go through things."  
  
"...what _are_ you talking about, Ranma?"  
  
The sixteen-year-old turned to the scared man, "Ken's got this ability   
to go _through_ objects."  
  
"You're kidding..."  
  
"He's not," Ken crossed his arms with a sigh, "I was... in an accident   
a few years back, before I entered the J-league. A building   
practically collapsed on me..."  
  
"So you're like... dead?"  
  
"You've been watching to many videos, Yohji," Ken rolled his eyes, "I'm   
very much alive, thank you very much. No, the reason for the building   
collapsing was supernatural..."  
  
"So," Ranma concluded, "That supernatural thingy transferred its power   
to _you_ and you got out alive."  
  
"The first time I ever phased," Ken agreed, "scared the hell out of me.   
I _Swear_ I thought I was dead."  
  
"How'd you figure out you weren't?" Yohji hiked his scarred brow. It   
was possible Ken was really a ghost... he shot the voice that told him   
that he had to stop watching midnight-to-dawn horror movie marathons.  
  
"I had a pulse, I still hurt from things hitting me when the building   
collapsed, and I was still bleeding rather profusely."  
  
"Could have been a kuei," Ranma pointed out, and Ken made a face.  
  
"I didn't even known what a kuei _was_ back then. Besides, if I was   
kuei, I wouldn't have been able to _leave_ the building site, and I'd   
still have all the bleeding wounds I died from," Ken snorted, "In any   
case, I'm alive, I can phase through any non-living or dead object, and   
the only people who know are you two and Schuldich."  
  
"And we won't tell until you give us permission," Yohji nodded, and   
Ranma scowled.  
  
"Aw, C'mon! It's good blackmail material![2]"  
  
---  
  
'Aya-   
Gone out to talk in private.  
Omi's taking Nabiki home.  
-Ken, Yohji, Ranko'  
  
Manx frowned, holding the note in hand. None of Weiss was currently   
home... she'd have to come back the next day to inform the boys of their   
next mission.  
  
She set the note back on the table and left, locking the door behind   
her. Exactly two minutes after she'd returned to her car and drove away,   
Ken came flying around the corner, ducking.  
  
A water balloon shattered on the wall beside him, and he whirled.   
Another water balloon flew-- this time, from his hands-- to send a spray   
of water up into the day's rapidly fading light.  
  
"Bonzai!" Ranko howled, as she dropped from a light post, raining tiny   
water balloons down on both Ken and Yohji-- who'd come around the corner,   
whipping balloons at Siberian.  
  
All three were thoroughly soaked, wet clothing sticking to their   
bodies as they played. Neither Ken nor Yohji had goofed off like this for   
a long while. To play like little kids was something lost to them.  
  
Of course, the only reason that Yohji and Ken were currently teaming up   
to drench Ranko, was a fluke. The former male had spotted a few lonely   
water balloons left out by some kid going to dinner.  
  
He'd felt the irresistible urge to whip one at the back of Kudou's   
head. They'd swiped the rest of the balloons to attack each other-- Yohji   
and Ranma, of course-- when Ken had vanished. Neither noticed... up   
until the point a water balloon hit both of them in the face.  
  
Ken had been standing there, grinning innocently, all the while holding   
a shopping bag full of water balloons. From there, all out war occurred.   
It would be a long time before anyone forgot the twenty-one-year-old,   
Nineteen-year-old, and the sixteen-year-old acting like six year olds.  
  
Ranko cocked her arm back, whipping it forwards to unleash the three   
balloons she'd held in hand. One hit Yohji, the other two landing on the   
ground to either side of him, splattering his pants with more water.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Ranko spun around, ignoring the impacts of the two water balloons that   
nailed her in the back, "Hey Aya! Join the war! Be my partner! We can   
double team Ken and Kudou!"  
  
The male redhead blinked, then leaned to one side to see Ken and Yohji   
waving at him with matching cheerful smiles, and bags of water balloons   
attached to their belts. Ranko didn't have one-- but she did know the   
Hidden Weapons technique.  
  
The urge to refuse and be his normal, icy cold self, was beaten by the   
cheerful, hopeful expression on his teammates and Ranko's faces. He   
growled a bit to himself as he found himself stripping off his orange   
sweater. It _was_ his favorite, and he didn't want to ruin it, "Let me   
put this inside."  
  
"Yes!" Ranko cheered, spinning around, "Oh yeah, we're going to beat   
you two into the ground! You have _no_ chance!"  
  
Yohji's eyes narrowed, "Then we'll just have to take you out before Aya   
gets back."  
  
Ken gave a sadistic grin, lofting a _very_ large water balloon, "Oh   
yeah..."  
  
"Do your worst!" Ranko shrieked the challenge happily, dodging out of   
Yohji's attack. Another shriek split the air as Ken's icy cold "bomb"   
shattered against her shoulder blades.   
  
The victory didn't last long before Ken found himself soaked clear   
through to the bone. Aya dropped the empty bucket on the ground, smirking   
slightly, "And the battle was joined..."  
  
Ranko's laughter echoed into the night.  
  
---  
  
Muu Tzu collected his weapons, using their chains to draw them into his   
sleeves. He adjusted his glasses, dropping them over his eyes to see if   
he'd hit the target. Half the weapons thrown had, the rest had ripped   
up the groove.  
  
"Muu Tzu."  
  
He spun around, "What do you want?"  
  
Khu Lon stepped from the shadows, "Xian Phu is dead."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
  
End   
[1] Someone's in denial.  
[2] Ranma had to have learned _some_ things from Nabiki. 


	20. Plans

If you couldn't tell, my computer was back in the shop. It's really   
hard to have a working computer when your CPU has literally melted   
and destroyed the motherboard. *glareglareglare*  
  
Just to prove that, yes, it really was computer problems, Chapters   
Nineteen, Twenty, and Twenty-One come out today. Yes, that's right!   
I'm posting the chapters that were supposed to come out over the   
last two weeks, PLUS this week's addition to the world of False   
Identity.  
  
At the bottom, there's a list of sites & URLs where False Identity can   
be found.  
  
Oh, and I want to say congrats to the one who's writing "Wild Kitten".   
An interesting take, even if you _aren't_ pairing Ranko and Farfie.   
I like what you've written so far. =^-^= Miiiiyah!  
  
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Nineteen: Plans  
Li Xiang  
  
  
  
The sight that greeted Schuldich as he strolled up the road made him   
laugh, long and hard.  
  
The light of the street lamps glared down on the heads of the two men   
tied to the poles-- Ken and Yohji. Omi was trying to untie them.[1]  
  
It didn't help that Kitty was still whipping water balloons in their   
direction. Both she and Aya were seated in front of the Koneko, a pile   
of water balloons between them. Aya was grinning faintly, arms crossed   
behind his head as glazed over violet eyes stared up at the sky. He was   
ignoring Omi's pleas to (a) help him and (b) stop Ranma.  
  
Schuldich's laughter caught all but Ranma-onna off guard-- Aya's eyes   
snapped to his face, Omi stopped untying his friends for a moment, and   
a look of nervousness crossed Ken's features. Ranma dropped the balloon   
she'd picked up, "Is Jei-sama with you?"  
  
"Not tonight, Bishoujo," Schuldich came to a stop in front of her with   
a grin, "Rache told me that you and Balinese know."  
  
"We do," Ranma nodded, "So does Ken."  
  
The redhead nodded, "You going to help?"  
  
It was Ken who responded, "Yeah, might as well." he rolled his   
shoulders, stretching, as the rope fell to the ground, and Omi stepped   
back. Yohji had been tied with a separate piece of rope. The seventeen   
year old sighed as he went back to untying his teammate.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Aya's voice was soft, but deadly, as he   
glared at Schuldich. While he wasn't as... distrusting... towards the   
other redhead these days, he still didn't fully trust Schuldich.  
  
/The feeling, Abyssian, is quite mutual, I assure you/ Violet eyes met   
jade and engaged in a staring contest. It held for a minute, before   
Schuldich smirked and broke contact. He turned to face Kitty, "Farf   
wants to see you, Bishoujo."  
  
"Don't call me that. Where?" She bounced to her feet, and started   
forwards. Abyssian stood, as well.  
  
"At the 'house," Schuldich's smirk widened, /And where are _you_ off   
to, Katzchen?/ he got a sharp glare in return.  
  
"I'm coming with you, Ranma."  
  
The feline girl hiked an eyebrow, then smirked, "Only if you can keep   
up with me, Fujimiya!" Laughing, she darted off. With a bit of a glare,   
the still sweater-less man followed at a rather good clip.  
  
Ken edged away as Schuldich stepped closer to them with a wicked grin,   
"I suggest we go somewhere more... private, if we're going to discuss   
our options."  
  
Omi looked rather confused-- both by Schuldich's"conversation" with   
Yohji, and the fact that Ken had place him between the German assassin   
and he.  
  
Yohji eyed the exchange between Ken and Schuldich, recalling Rache and   
Ranma's conversation from the afternoon, "Stop teasing him, Schuldich.   
As a point, I don't trust-- let alone like-- you. Let's go."  
  
---  
  
It wasn't actually all that hard to keep Ranma in sight-- most likely   
because he kept to the streets after having gotten some hot water.  
  
It was when the young male stopped outside the entrance of a familiar   
warehouse that Aya actually came up beside him. The martial artist was   
smirking, "I made it _easy_ for you, Abyssian."  
  
He didn't doubt it, either. He'd heard Yohji's tale of the fight   
between Ranko and Ryouga. He'd seen Ranko's speed during the water   
fight. Which reminded him... a quick look down revealed that yes, he   
was still shirtless. He felt the unfathomable urge to smack himself.  
  
This was certainly the first time something like _this_ had ever   
happened to him.  
  
Ranma smirked at him, then threw open the warehouse doors, "Are you   
here, Jei-sama?"  
  
Rache's irritated face bobbed out of the darkness, "Unfortunately.   
You've only been gone three hours, and now you're back?!"  
  
"Calm down, Rache," Aya had picked up Schuldich's habit of using the   
name she'd taken before being adopted. She turned a burning glare on   
the older redhead.  
  
"_You_ put up with Farfie for twenty minutes, and see how well _you_   
take it," Rache snipped, then sighed, "Okay, okay, you two can come in.   
I wonder if I'm ever going to get those computers in..." The last part   
was mumbled as she returned to the darkness, blue duster swirling with   
her movements.  
  
Aya and Ranma entered the shadows themselves. While normally this would   
be stupid and dangerous-- they could trip and fall and hurt   
themselves-- there was nothing to trip and fall and hurt themselves   
_on_. The only places furnished were the bedrooms, and the one they   
were headed towards had bright light spilling from the open door.  
  
When they got there, it was immediately recognizable as Farfello's   
room. The walls had been covered with two inch thick foam mats, the   
ceiling and floor much the same. A large, four poster bed-- complete   
with shackles and chains-- was tucked into one corner. A nearby chest   
lay open, exposing one hell of a lot of wicked-looking torture   
implements.  
  
And, of course, Farfello himself sat on the bed, drawing patterns in   
his arm with a knife. He looked up as they entered, eyes on his Kitty,   
not even noticing Abyssian. Said assassin found himself one of the rare   
few who saw-- not Farfello, by Jei, the original personality-- smile in   
true happiness.  
  
Then, of course, it vanished when his attention was turned on the bare   
chested Fujimiya, "...Abyssian."  
  
"Farfello," he greeted, equally as awkward as Farfello had. What do you   
say to the man who you've actively tried to kill? What do you say to   
the man who, despite being an enemy, took care of one of your most   
precious belongings?  
  
Jei turned an inquisitive eye to Kitty, and the martial artist   
shrugged, "He followed me."  
  
This caused the pale haired man to burst into laughter, "The assassin   
followed the cat home!"  
  
Ranma smirked, then dropped onto the bed beside his long-time friend.   
Once his laughter had abided, Jei tugged the martial artist into his   
lap-- or, at least, he tried. Ranma was quite comfortable spread across   
the bed, and didn't want to move. Farfello growled lowly, and Aya   
interrupted.  
  
"Leave him be, Farfello," the redhead had dropped to the floor, seated   
cross-legged, "If he doesn't want to move, he won't."  
  
Jei gave the older man a dark look, "How would _you_ know, Abyssian?"  
  
Violet eyes slid shut and a wry chuckle forced itself out of lips that   
_tried_ to refuse the gesture, "I've been living with him for the past   
week[2]"  
  
"Don't remind me," Farfello growled, jealousy flaring within him. He   
knit his fingers in Kitty's hair, and the martial artist slit open an   
eye.  
  
"Don't talk like I'm not here," Farfello hiked an eyebrow, but Aya's   
expression didn't change, "Stop being at each other's throats, too. As   
much as I _love_ a good fight, I don't feel like being the cause of one   
between the two of you, right now."  
  
Jei snorted, "You didn't seem to mind when you were a cause of a fight   
for those girls."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes, muttering, "They beat _me_ up just as much as   
they did each other. Helped to make Ryouga's punches hurt less."  
  
"You let them beat on you... to make it hurt less?" Alright, Aya   
decided, Ranma's nuts.   
  
"Endurance training," the martial artist shrugged, "Ryouga's one upped   
me in _that_-- he had boulders smashed into him!"  
  
---  
  
Outside the warehouse, Schuldich hummed cheerfully, pushing the door   
open. Both Yohji and Omi looked a bit wary of being at the warehouse,   
while Ken merely looked wary of Schuldich.  
  
Scratch that, Ken was bloody terrified of the German, for all his   
teasing on the way over. He was using Yohji and Omi as shields.  
  
A pair of irritated emerald eyes peered out of the darkness, "What's   
with all the visitors tonight, Bruder?"  
  
"Hello to you, too, Rache," Schuldich shrugged, "We felt discussing the   
deal we've got going would be done best somewhere in... private." to   
punctuate hi words, the redhead leered at Ken, and Siberian stared at   
him for a moment, before hiding behind Omi.  
  
Rache snickered, "Oh stop teasing him, Schu! I think you've tormented   
him enough over the last few days."  
  
"Ah, you're no fun, Kleine Schwester. Where are Farf and his katzchen?"  
  
"You're the telepath, can't you find them?"  
  
"I could," he grinned, "But I'm feeling lazy. Lay on, Macduff."  
  
Rache eyed him, stating drily, "Don't quote Shakespear,   
brother-dearest. Follow the light-- Irish, Ranma and Aya are in Farf's   
room."  
  
"Danke." Cheerful smile back in place, Schuldich guided the Weiss boys   
into the darkness. Wary of a trap, Yohji's fingers stole to his watch,   
where his monofilament wire was hidden. Omi would have done the same,   
had he thought to bring his darts with him-- but they'd come straight   
from the scene of the water fight.   
  
Ken continued oblivious to his friends' nervousness. He'd been   
throughout the whole of the warehouse the day or so prior, when   
Schuldich had been chasing him. Besides, since Omi was the only one   
with him that didn't already know, he supposed it didn't really matter   
if he found out about his phasing ability. He'd just go through the   
floor if there was trouble.   
  
The light spilling from the door was bright in the unlighted warehouse,   
almost blinding from a distance. As they came closer, they could hear   
Ranma saying something about... boulders?  
  
"That must have hurt," Schuldich put in, announcing his presence to the   
trio in the room. Farfello frowned.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
Schuldich shrugged with a grin, "I figured we should discuss the deal   
with everyone here."  
  
"Then where's Nagi and Crawford?" Ranma questioned with a raised   
eyebrow, and Jei snickered.  
  
"They don't know about it yet."  
  
"You're kidding," Yohji still held his kill-wire in a careful grip. He   
wasn't about to just _trust_ the men who'd tried to kill him on   
multiple occasions-- especially Farfello.  
  
"Nope," Schuldich shook his head, sending flame toned hair flying,   
"Neither Crawford nor Nagi know what we're planning on doing."  
  
"I guess that's why Rache said it would be a few weeks," Ranma nodded   
to himself, sitting up, "You still have to convince Crawford and Nagi   
this is a _good_ idea."  
  
Ken edged away from Schuldich-- who'd apparently decided to stand right   
beside him-- and spoke, "Alright, we wait to talk about it until _all_   
of Schwartz is here. Can we _go_ now?!"  
  
Ranma almost laughed at Ken's pain, while both Aya and Omi gave Ken   
confused looks. Yohji sighed, shaking his head, "Would you relax, Ken?   
Schuldich isn't going to hurt _you_."  
  
The implied statement blew completely over Ken's head, as he pulled Aya   
between him and the German. Frowning, the violet eyes man snorted,   
"What's this all _about_?"  
  
"Schwartz agrees to step out of your way to Kill Takatori on two   
conditions," Ranma recited, "the first, Weiss leaves Kritiker. The   
second, Tsukiyono is _not_ allowed to go anymore near the Takatori   
family with intent to kill."  
  
Aya and Omi shared a confused 'blink', and Schuldich shook his head,   
"As long as it's not Omi who takes out Takatori, Schwartz won't stand   
in your way. All we want is Weiss away from Kritiker."  
  
A suspicious glare prompted a bit of laughter (from Schuldich, of   
course), and a rolling of the eyes (Ranma). After a moment, Ranma began   
to explain.  
  
---  
  
The whistle of displaced air was all the warning Ninomiko Kenji had   
before he crumpled to the ground, dead.  
  
The katana was raised, a red cloth used to carefully wipe the blood   
from the blade, and from black leather gloves. With that complete, the   
sword returned to it's sheath in silence. The cloth was tucked into a   
small black bag and tucked into the bodice of the red kimono. In the   
dark, the crimson tones were muted, but still bright enough that the   
black silhouettes of a forest could still be seen.  
  
The woman turned away from her target, walking away from the corpse.  
  
Once away from the body, a simple cell phone was removed from her obi.   
Flicking it on, she hit speed dial, and spoke a short sentence, "Target   
Eliminated."  
  
On the other end the response was just as simple, "Good. Got to the   
pick-up to retrieve the next," She did not say good by, merely ending   
the call.  
  
---  
  
Yawning, Ranma trudged back to the Koneko no Sumi Ie behind Weiss. It   
was late-- it had taken a while to get Ken out of Schuldich's grip--   
and he was tired. A series of late nights and almost constantly in the   
feral state of mind was taking it's toll.  
  
Enough that, until he heard a scream of outrage, he hadn't realised his   
danger sense was blaring at him.  
  
"Ranma, for killing my Xian Phu-- PREPARE TO DIE!"  
  
Weiss whirled at the shout of challenge, gapping in amazement as a   
veritable field of chains arched from the darkness, each of the   
hundreds of chains tipped with some form of razor sharp blade. They   
were directed solely at Ranma, and the boys relaxed for a moment-- they   
expected Ranma to dodge with all the speed he'd previously shown them.  
  
But Ranma had been caught off guard. The martial artist's veneer of   
energy and wakefulness had fallen away to leave a worn and tired young   
man in his place. His speed had left him as he attempt to dodge the   
blades just a little to late.  
  
Blades pierced his skin, some scratching, some slicing, and some   
embedding in his body as he moved. Pain lanced through his body, and he   
gave a horrible screech of pain, not unlike that of a wild beast. It   
was his scream that launched Weiss into action. Omi may have been angry   
with the gender-bender-- for the near-death of Akane-- but Ranma was   
also a sorta-friend. Yohji was pissed that Ranma had attempted to kill   
him-- but the martial artist _had_ taken him to Rache.  
  
Only Yohji had his weapon on him, so the Playboy followed the chains to   
their source-- a teenaged Chinese boy. Practiced movements had his wire   
arching out not unlike the chains, pinning the young man's arms to his   
body, tangling in the wire. For a moment, he mused on the fact that   
he'd once done something like this to Aya, before returning to the task   
at hand.  
  
Without their master, the flung blades clattered to the ground. Omi and   
Aya both snatched up some-- Omi a handful of throwing knives still   
attached to their chains, and Aya a scimitar. Ken moved to Ranma's side   
as the bleeding youth collapsed against a wall. With careful hands, he   
pulled some of the bloody blades from their human scabbard-- others he   
left in, to halt blood flow, "Guys, take care of that moron! Ranma   
needs a doctor!"  
  
"Take him to Naru!" Yohji barked, even as Aya growled, "Rache will know   
what to do."  
  
Ken nodded, hefting Ranma into his arms, "I've never taken someone with   
me when I phase," he muttered to the half conscious youth, "Let's hope   
I don't make anything worse, ne?"  
  
Ranma gave a pained chuckle, almost snuggling into Ken's arms like a   
child.  
  
Hesitantly at first, Ken stepped through the wall Ranma had been   
leaning against. When the only thing to happen was that the parts of   
Ranma's clothing not directly touching him vanished, he broke into an   
outright run. Who cared if someone saw him? So they'd think they'd seen   
a ghost or two... Ranma's life was on the line.  
  
---  
  
Back with the rest of Weiss, Muu Tzu was struggling with the wire that   
bound him. He didn't struggle hard-- the wires had cut through his silk   
robes, biting into his skin when he'd tried. He froze completely,   
however, when the tip of a sword pressed against his adam's apple.  
  
An icy voice practically snarled, "Give me one good reason why I   
shouldn't kill you where you stand."  
  
"He's not exactly standing, Abyssian."  
  
"Quiet, Balinese," a third voice hissed, and Muu Tzu wished he could   
see more than blurs in the darkness. The sword pressed closer, and the   
first voice hissed, "Answer."  
  
"He killed my Xian Phu!"  
  
"He killed a bottle of shampoo?" Yohji hiked an eyebrow, and Muu Tzu   
snarled, "Xian Phu was her _name_!"  
  
Aya's face blanked, "Killing is what assassins do."  
  
"Assassin?" Muu Tzu scoffed, "Saotome's no assassin."  
  
Without emotion, Aya thrust the sword forwards-- and hit nothing, as   
Muu Tzu's robes collapsed in on themselves. Yohji gaped, "...the hell?"  
  
Aya toed the robes, but there was no sign of the amazon boy. With a   
growl, the redhead turned away, "Let's get back to the Koneko."  
  
"What about Ranma?" Omi questioned, and his leader turned bright,   
violet eyes on him.   
  
"Ken will inform us," he snapped, "until then, we'd just be getting in   
the way."  
  
Yohji and Omi stared at each other, then followed Abyssian back to   
their shop. After a few minutes, Muu Tzu's robes shifted, and a duck   
waddled out.  
  
Thank god, Mu-mu-chan thought, that I had that bottle of water on me.  
  
  
End   
  
  
  
[1] Yes, this can happen. Heh, about three years ago we tied my brother   
and my neighbour up like that in the middle of a water fight. Gen   
wasn't to happy about it...  
[2] Has it only been a week? Seems like much more time has passed,   
doesn't it? Especially with my frequent computer problems. *sweatdrops*  
  
  
Ranchan & Co. - http://tannim.anifics.com/  
Lady Cosmos' Fanfic Library - http://ladycosmos.anifics.com/  
Strider's Ranma Archive - http://archive.anifics.com/  
Faded Fantasies - http://li_xiang.anifics.com/  
Fanfiction.net 


	21. Shots

Like I said in the notes for fi19, here's the second chapter for the   
three chapters upload! Yay for you! I _was_ originally going to hold   
this one back for another week, but I decided that was just cruel. I   
might as well let you get all the False Identity Goodness you missed.   
Besides, that's how I work Legions (my comic). If I'm lost for a week   
or two, the comics from the missing dates go up with the current week's.  
  
See, I'm not trying to just get out of doing chapters. I just happen to   
have a lot of computer problems that are a pain in the ass.  
  
Besides, Dad wouldn't let me use his laptop to upload everything because   
he's an arse. (Dad: "It's my job!") Isn't my father mean? If I knew   
what his email was (er... what the email he actually checks was...) I'd   
post it so all of you could bug him into letting me upload stuff.  
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Twenty: Shots  
Li Xiang  
  
  
Softly, she padded down the road, kimono whispering with her movements.   
It was late-- past midnight-- as she halted outside a small pet shop.   
The closed blinds slitted open after a few minutes, and a side door   
swung silently in, "About time you got here, Raven. Your client is   
waiting."  
  
The woman gave an elegant shrug, "I had to finish my last client's   
job." She entered the pet shop and hiked a scarlet brow upon seeing her   
latest employer.  
  
"Well, this _is_ a surprise, Cologne."  
  
The old amazon turned to face the familiar voice. Shock registered   
across the elder's face, "The infamous Lady Assassin Raven..." Khu Lon   
muttered, "...is Saotome Nodoka?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
---  
  
Gulping in air, Ken skidded to a stop once within the warehouse. He'd   
been running so hard, so fast, that he had to twist around, slamming   
his back into the wall to halt himself. His sharp cry of pain-- mingled   
with that of his burden's-- brought Rache running.  
  
"Ken! What's wrong?"  
  
"Ranma..." Ken wheezed, "... gotta heal... Ranma...!"  
  
It took less than a glance to understand Ken's panic. With a simple   
command, Rache had Ken take Ranma into the younger boy's room. Setting   
him carefully on the bed, the young healer began to heal his wounds,   
one by one. Starting with the major wounds-- where she'd take out one   
of the knives, then force her power into the bleeding gash-- she made   
her way painstakingly over the sixteen year old's body.  
  
She got through the majority of the most serious wounds before   
collapsing. She'd done to much healing that day, and had passed out   
halfway through healing the last of the wounds that required blade   
removal.  
  
Sighing, Ken lifted Rache's small, light frame, setting her on Ranma's   
bed as he began to bandage the boy's wounds. Tired and aching as he was   
from his sprint, the Hidaka male was _not_ about to let his   
sorta-friend bleed to death.  
  
Ranma's clothes were ruined-- not only had Muu Tzu's weapons managed to   
rip them to shreds, that first phasing had all but made the boy naked.   
The unconscious youth had been stripped out of the remains to be   
healed-- the seriousness of the wounds preventing any attempts at   
modesty by either Ken or Rache. To be honest, neither had really   
noticed in their frantic attempts to save the young martial artist's   
life. The shreds of clothing that remained were pilled haphazardly in a   
corner.  
  
It was those pieces of silk that Ken used to bind Ranma's wounds, the   
multitudes of bloody scrapes and cuts cleaned with alcohol-- why did   
Rache have alcohol on her?-- washed clear with water, then tightly   
wrapped. After an hour and a half of labour, Ken lifted Ranma up onto   
his bed.  
  
Once the teenager was carefully set down, Ken again picked up Rache,   
and headed to the only other room in the warehouse with lights on. He   
kicked Ranma's door shut, hitting the light switch with his elbow as he   
left.  
  
Had he stayed but one minute longer, he would have seen something truly   
amazing. Ranma's body began to heal itself-- at a very accelerated   
rate. Smoke seemed to waft out of his bandaged wounds, running over his   
skin like a mother's gentle fingers. And his injuries began to seal   
themselves...  
  
---  
  
The wood was rough beneath the tender pads of his paws-- feet, the   
human side whispered, and hands-- grains sticking and cutting, leaving   
a number of blood splatters on the fence as he walked it. The chain   
looped about his neck tightened, tugging him forwards.  
  
Ebon hair danced in his stormy eyes, obscuring scant fractions of sight   
for mere moments before moving on.  
  
Kitty paced the fence alongside his human companion on the road. A   
flash of annoyance at being treated like some sort of possession washed   
over him before vanishing. Jei was feeding him-- a spell of good luck.   
Despite his unmatchable speed, Kitty wasn't all that great of a   
hunter-- he _was_ still a kitten, after all-- and had been barely   
eating before Jei had found him.  
  
A shriek split the air, and both boys looked up. Only a few feet away   
from them was Jei's mother, staring at her son in shock.  
  
"I _thought_" she practically bellowed, "I told you to stay away from   
that riff-raff wild child!"  
  
"He's my pet," Jei grumped, "He _listens_ to me!"  
  
"Listens? LISTENS?! Jei! Get _away_ from that-- that-- that trash!"  
  
Kitty's hackles rose, lips curling back from his teeth. Jei had dropped   
the chain to get into a screaming match with his mother. A distinctly   
feline yowl was issued forth from his lips, as Kitty launched himself   
at the woman.  
  
She wasn't going to take away his food provider!  
  
Jei barely managed to scramble out of the way as Kitty attacked, eyes   
flashing. His mother shrieked again, swinging her purse around in a   
desperate attempt to save herself. The impromptu weapon cracked Kitty   
across the base of his skull, sending roaring tremors of pain   
throughout him.  
  
---  
  
Saotome Nodoka watched Khu Lon through narrowed eyes, lifting her tea   
cup to her lips once again. For the last hour or so, she and the old   
amazon had been secreted away in the basement of the pet shop.  
  
In a round about way, Khu Lon had been asking questions about Ranma. A   
mother _always_ knew when she was being questioned about her child, and   
there was no doubt that, that was what Khu Lon as attempting. She also   
knew there was a reason behind the ancient woman to have come looking   
for "Raven"-- and it had yet to come up.  
  
Finally, the younger woman's patience was worn through, "As much as I   
appreciate you catching me up on the gossip in Nerima, but there is a   
reason you were searching Raven out, was there not?"  
  
"...yes," Nodoka noted Khu Lon's slight hesitation before answering,   
but neither changed expression or said a word. The old woman was up to   
something-- the Saotome Matriarch recognized the gleam in her eyes,   
"There is something I must tell you first, however, so that you should   
understand my view."  
  
Something to do with either Ranma or Genma, then. Had it been anyone   
else, she mused, then Khu Lon would not have hesitated. It is not in   
her character, "Then do tell."  
  
"I know of the Seppeku Pact," who didn't? "And your reasons behind it.   
I... must tell you that Ranma is not only _failing_ in his duties as a   
'manly man'-- he is actively attempting to destroy any chance of doing   
so!"  
  
"Explain," the ice in Nodoka's voice made Khu Lon crow with success--   
on the inside, of course. Nodoka was almost within her grasp.  
  
"Three nights ago, Ranma reappeared at the Tendou Dojo after almost a   
week of his latest disappearing act. With him came a man impervious to   
pain, and together they took out Akane, Nabiki and another young man."  
  
"What of Akane and Nabiki?"  
  
"Nabiki will walk with a limp for the rest of her life. Akane is in a   
coma. Worse yet, the following morning the nerveless man appeared at   
the Nekohanton, screaming of revenge on those who would steal 'his   
Kitty'."  
  
"Ranma."  
  
"Yes," Khu Lon nodded slowly, "your son arrived on the scene not to   
long after that-- and prevented me from rescuing my great   
granddaughter. Your son allowed Xian Phu to be killed! Is that _not_ a   
violation of his man-amongst-men pact? To kill a woman?"  
  
Nodoka was frowning out right now, and Khu Lon jumped at the chance to   
reinforce her point, "Should he not have to pay with his own life? An   
eye for an eye...?"  
  
Nodoka stood, setting her empty teacup on the table, "An eye for an   
eye, Khu Lon? What you suggest... would mean _I_ would have to die as   
well, would it not? I _am_ an assassin."  
  
"Are you saying that you're going back on a pact of _honor_?" Khu Lon   
knew _damn_ well that both Ranma and his mother were hooked on honor.   
The seppaku pledge was her only way to force Nodoka's hand-- and   
killing a woman was not _manly_, especially, the wold woman thought,   
for a woman who based her standards of manly on _Happosei_.   
  
A cruel smile made its way across Nodoka's face, before vanishing   
beneath an artfully emotionless mask, "I'm afraid, Khu Lon, that you   
've misunderstood me. The seppeku pledge... well, if one were to look   
closely, one would note that there are exemptions."  
  
"Exceptions?" Khu Lon slipped one hand into her sleeve, hiking an   
eyebrow.  
  
"Yes," Nodoka started for the door, "You see, if Ranma was to follow in   
my footsteps, he would _have_ to take out a woman, in time[1]. There   
are other exemptions, but those you need not know."  
  
"Such a shame," Khu Lon mused, pulling her hand free from her sleeve,   
having drawn a 9mm from it's holster. The gun looked large compared to   
her diminutive frame, "that you would not see reason and do this for   
me. However, now that you have the chance to tell your son my plan, I'm   
afraid... you're expendable."  
  
"What--" was all Nodoka got out as she began to turn to face the elder.   
The gun was not silenced, and therefore _very_ loud when it rang out.   
The slight turn of her body made the bullet miss her heart-- the   
elder's target-- but it still hit.  
  
A scream of pain rent the air.  
  
---  
  
"NO!"  
  
Ranma sat bolt up, flipping to his feet in a single, fluid movement. He   
stumbled a step, the bandages tight on corded muscle, and the last of   
the smoke that curled over his body dissipated. Snarling, he ripped the   
tight bandages from his chest and thighs, either uncaring, or unseeing   
of the red and black silk wrapped around his shins and arms.   
  
Stormy blue eyes flared in the darkness, his breath coming in rapid   
gasps. Muscles tensed and relaxed in the mimic of a whirlwind. Like a   
raging storm held barely at bay, Ranma paced the room, keen eyes   
glaring out in search of clothing.  
  
Seeing none, Kitty grabbed the bed sheet negligently ripping a hole in   
the middle and sliding the fabric over his head like a poncho. As he   
did this, Ken flew in through the door, "Ranma! What are you--"  
  
"Out. Of. My. Way." Ranma snarled, his aura almost flaring into the   
visible spectrum-- power dancing in blue eyes. Automatically, Ken moved   
to one side, and Ranma stalked past.  
  
"What's going on? Why'd you scream? What... what happened to all your   
injuries?!"  
  
"Doesn't matter, doesn't matter, doesn't matter," Ranma replied, before   
throwing open the door and leaping to the roof of the next building   
over. Ken gaped at Ranma's long distance standing jump.  
  
As the martial artist ran into the night, he growled lowly, "Hang on   
mama..." he didn't know why her aura flared suddenly in his senses--   
but the rapid drop of power could only mean one thing...  
  
... Nodoka was on her way to dying.  
  
---  
  
Upon tucking the disgusting "modern" weapon back into her sleeve, Khu   
Lon stepped over Nodoka's body, walking out the entrance before the   
store's owner could come racing into the basement from his own room.   
Nodoka would not be talking anytime soon.  
  
She vanished into the darkness.  
  
Only moments later, Mugoh Kojiro barreled down the stairs, throwing   
open the basement doors to find his favorite operative soaking her   
kimono in her own blood. Khu Lon had known the moment the bullet went   
off, she'd have to leave-- quickly-- and hadn't bothered to check to   
see that she'd hit where she'd meant to.  
  
Nodoka had pushed herself up, but she didn't look like she'd be able to   
hold herself up. Kojiro knew she'd been shot before-- only the want to   
see her only son again had kept her alive, then. But he knew she'd   
found the elusive boy and his father. He _didn't_ know if she'd want to   
live to see her grandkids.  
  
"C'mon Raven, my No-chan," he grunted, hefting her into his arms, "this   
is no place to die."  
  
Nodoka shrugged slightly, hissing with pain as she did so-- even _that_   
minimal movement sent waves of agony through her body. Kojiro struggled   
to get her over to the basement's couch. Blood was beginning to soak   
into his skin when he finally got her comfortable.   
  
Grunting and popping his back, Kojiro brushed red bangs out of her   
face, "Sit tight," he whispered, "I'll be right back..."  
  
Bolting for the stairs, Kojiro shot through the pet shop and up into   
his living quarters. Panic bubbled in his chest-- he _couldn't_ let   
Nodoka die... he'd hate himself for it.  
  
As he came out of the bathroom, there came a noise. It was far from   
soft-- it was the sound of someone forcing open the metal gates that   
covered the display windows. Kojiro flew down the stairs, only to see   
someone wearing what appeared to be a white poncho disappearing down   
the stairwell to the basement.  
  
Gritting his teeth-- and checking to make sure his favorite Bowie knife   
was still in it's place-- Kojiro paced silently down the stairs. When   
he pushed open the door to the basement, he froze.  
  
A teenaged boy was kneeling beside Nodoka. What he'd thought a poncho   
was nothing more than a sheet with a hole through it for his head. Ebon   
hair-- loose, but not free; it was blood caked, much like Nodoka's   
clothing-- flowed down his back to the bottoms of his shoulder blades.  
  
"Who did this?" the boy hissed, turning his head so one luminescent   
blue eye was on Kojiro," Who dared to hurt my mother?!"  
  
_This_ was Ranma? Kojiro scowled, "How did you know she was here?"  
  
Ranma snorted, "I'm a martial artist," as thought i explained   
everything. It didn't, and at Kojiro's blank expression, he scowled   
just as darkly as the older man had, "I sensed her battle aura peak,   
then fall rapidly. I traced it here."  
  
That didn't do much better, but Kojiro didn't want Nodoka to die while   
Ranma's explained. The black haired man brought the first aid kit he'd   
grabbed as Ranma knit his finger though his mother's.  
  
Kojiro began to speak, knowing, somehow, deep in his bones, that if he   
didn't explain, Ranma might do something rash. It was already going to   
cost him a lot of yen to replace the pet shop gates.  
  
"No-chan." Ranma cast him a look at the nickname-- Kojiro didn't see   
it, "always asks to be alone with her clients--"  
  
"Clients?"  
  
"You don't know what your mother's job is?"  
  
"Never thought to ask," Ranma's eyes flared suddenly, pure, glaring   
white energy sparking from them, "Continue. So I know who to kill."  
  
"You're a lot like your mother," Kojiro muttered, now positive that   
this was, indeed, Saotome Ranma, "Any ways, No-chan knew the client   
this time-- some old woman-- and they came down here for tea and talk.   
I don't know what happened, I was upstairs, but someone shot a gun. The   
old woman was gone, and No-chan bleeding to death."  
  
"What about a hospital?" Old woman...?  
  
"No time," Kojiro ran his fingers through Nodoka's hair, licking his   
dry, chapped lips, "She's almost gone, now. Lost to much blood."  
  
Ranma snorted, "Coulda said the same about me about two hours ago...   
now, how did Naru do that trick?"  
  
The ebon haired martial artist was so busy staring into space,   
wondering, that he never noticed the black smoke seeping from beneath   
his bandages-- Kojiro, however, did.  
  
"What the...?"  
  
Blinking, the martial artist looked over at the older man, then   
followed Mugoh's gaze to his arms. The smoke grew stronger under   
Ranma's own gaze, becoming almost a shadow as it wafted into the air.   
When whatever it was dove for Nodoka, both males gave a cry of alarm.  
  
---  
  
"So he's not with you?"  
  
"No," was Aya's terse reply, and Ken winced. Ranma was nowhere to be   
seen-- nowhere to found. And Ken did _not_ want to reach out to the   
only way he'd be able to find him.  
  
"Alright, thanks Aya. Call me if he shows up there?"  
  
"Fine," and the phone went dead. Ken stared at the receiver, blinking.   
Slowly, he set it back into it's cradle, biting his lip. He _really_   
did _not_ want to do this.  
  
Tentatively, he called out, within his own mind.   
  
/Schuldich?/  
  
The speed at which he was answered, startled him. The response,   
however, explained _why_.  
  
/Bishoujo's gone rouge, and you want to know where he is, eh Lieber?/  
Obviously, Schuldich had already been tucked away in the back of his   
mind. Growling a bit, Ken managed to snap back, half civilly, /No duh.   
Where's Ranma?/  
  
The mental equivalent of a shrug was imposed upon Ken, /Not to sure. I   
suppose I should track him down, then, Lieber?/  
  
Ken didn't dignify Schuldich with an answer, and the German pulled out   
from the Weiss boy's mind. Less than ten minutes later, Schuldich's   
presence flooded his mind. Ken jerked in surprise, almost dropping the   
glass of water he'd pulled from Ranma's fridge.  
  
/Ranma's mind is... panicked/ Schuldich sounded hesitant, /I wouldn't   
go near him til he's cooled down a bit.../  
  
/What _aren't_ you telling me?/  
  
A lot, Schuldich mused to himself, /Ranma... eh, his mom's in trouble,   
he's pissed. That's all I could get from him. His mind's a trap for the   
unwary, Kenken./  
  
  
End  
  
[1] This is called foreshadowing. Hell, it's practically telling you   
who the woman is, right there, hehehehehehehe  
  
I just realised that prereading my own work is really, really, stupid.   
*sniffles* I want my prereader back! But Yanslana's on vacation... 


	22. Method

And here it is! The third part of the massive upload of False Identity!   
Yay! Everyone gets False Identity goodness! (Of course, chapters 19,   
20, and 21 are probably going to be rewritten and re-uploaded once my   
prereader gets back from her vacation and wonders exactly what I was   
trying to do...)  
  
If you couldn't tell, I looked up 'plan' in a thesaurus for this   
chapter's title. Hey, I couldn't think of anything!  
  
This chapter may seem short, I don't know... You've almost reached the   
end of False Identity. Scary thought, ne? But don't worry, just because   
False is ending, doesn't mean Identity is ending. *grins evily, and   
cackles*  
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Twenty-one: Method  
Li Xiang  
  
  
  
Neither had been prepared for the smokey shadow to dive into Nodoka's   
bullet wound, or for it to fill it as though it were water.  
  
"What's going on?!"  
  
"How the hell should _I_ know? It came from _your_ body!"  
  
The two men glared at each other, then turned back to watch Nodoka. The   
smoke swirled, drifting from her chest-- a sudden gasp trembled through   
her, new blood spilling from the wound. A wound that began to swiftly   
mend itself.   
  
Ranma gaped rather openly, "She's... healing!?"  
  
"Looks like it," Kojiro muttered, turning suspicious eyes on his   
operative's son, "What was that... smoke?"  
  
Shooting him another glare, Ranma growled, "What makes you think _I_   
know?"  
  
"Like I said-- it came from _you_!"[1]  
  
"That doesn't mean I know what it was!" the martial artist snapped,   
before he spoke softly, almost to himself, "I healed just as fast   
tonight... I thought it was Naru, but now..."  
  
"Naru?" Kojiro hadn't heard that particular name in any of Nodoka's   
tales. Ranma shot him a look, but remained tight-lipped. He didn't know   
who this man was, aside from one of his mother's friends. He wasn't   
about to endanger one of his few-- very few-- friends.  
  
Sighing, Kojiro returned his gaze to Nodoka, thoughts flying a mile a   
minute. Your son doesn't trust me, No-chan. He's a much different _man_   
than that naive, brash child you told me of...  
  
Ranma's voice cut through the air, pulling Kojiro out of his thoughts.   
The boy was... singing?  
  
"Crawling in my skin,  
these wounds they will not heal  
fear is how I fall  
confusing what is real  
  
Yes, comfort endlessly, has pulled itself upon me  
distracting, reacting  
against my will I stand beside my own reflection  
it's haunting, how I can't seem,   
to find myself again, my walls are closing in  
  
without a sense of confidence,  
I'm convinced that there's just to much  
pressure to take  
  
I've felt this way before  
so insecure~!"  
  
"Isn't that one of Sushi's songs?" Kojiro wondered. He _really_ liked   
Xue Shi, and was fairly disappointed that he'd missed the concert a few   
nights earlier, but... when work calls...  
  
"It's pronounced, 'Xue Shi'," Ranma actually sounded miffed, "I wish   
people would say the name properly. It's annoying having to correct   
everyone," the last part had been mumbled to himself before he nodded,   
"Yeah it's one of Xue Shi's songs."  
  
"You sound like a bigger fan than me!" Finally! Something to connect   
on! Maybe Nodoka's son _could_ come to trust him.  
  
A mysterious smile crossed Ranma's face, "Oh... you could say that..."  
  
An excited look overcame Kojiro's countence, and his fingers brushed   
through Nodoka's hair almost absently, "Do you know any other songs?"  
  
Ranma almost laughed out right, then and there. Know any other songs   
indeed. Instead, he shrugged, "I know a few lines here and there..."  
  
Without waiting for a response, Ranma began-- hey, it was good   
practice, and something he could do while waiting for his mother to   
regain consciousness.  
  
"Can't handle the truth,  
Gimme room to breath!  
  
If I was your last breath left, I would suck it in.  
If you were claustrophobic, I'd be your last bit of oxygen.  
If I was a mic, I'd give you feedback,   
Believe that!  
Somebody give me room to breath, so ease back  
If I was your number one fan, I'd be the kind that stalks you  
If I were a stranger, I'd be the kind you shouldn't talk to  
Listen, nobody can match this, 'Cause I make crowds do back flips!"  
  
"I've never heard that one before," Kojiro mused. Ranma shrugged, "It'   
on the CD, she just hasn't had a chance to play it live, yet."  
  
"There's no CD!" Now he _knew_ Ranma was lying. He didn't know anymore   
songs!  
  
Ranma grinned widely, "I think I should know what's on a CD my   
roommate's recording."  
  
"Ranma..." Both men turned to see Nodoka struggling to sit up as the   
last of the smoke drifted away, "Don't lie to Kojiro. You're not   
"rooming" with Xue Shi--"  
  
Hah! He knew Ranma was just a --  
  
"-- you _are_ Xue Shi. Don't think I'm so oblivious as to not notice   
Nyu Xue Shi and Tendou Ranko were the same person."  
  
Ranma was seated beside his mother-- having moved when she first said   
his name-- and sighed, "Mom..."  
  
"I trust Kojiro with my life," Nodoka settled back on the couch, "I   
trust him enough that he'll keep the curse a secret."  
  
"That wasn't what I was about to ask," Nodoka blushed at the fact that   
her assumption had been wrong, "I want to know who shot you."  
  
"It was Cologne. She wanted me to kill you..."  
  
"I bet this is about slitting Shampoo's throat," Ranma groaned, "That's   
the reason Mousse attacked me a few hours ago."  
  
"So you _did_ kill Shampoo?"  
  
He shrugged, "She might be, or might not be. Dunno if Jei-sama cut deep   
enough to kill her."  
  
"Jei-sama?" the other two choused, rather surprised. Ranma was showing   
respect for someone? Ranma was practically calling someone his lord,   
his master, his Emperor. It was probably closer to the last one;   
Ranma's heart and mind were that of a samurai.  
  
All he'd needed in days past was one who he'd truly respected-- not   
just as a sensai, but as someone he really knew-- to be considered his   
daimyo. In her own samurai heart, Nodoka knew that he'd found his   
daimyo, found the one he'd pledge his life to.  
  
Nodoka knew the feeling-- she, too, had found one to be considered a   
daimyo, during the period Genma had left her. A faint smile crossed her   
lips.  
  
"Jei-sama is..." Ranma paused, unable to find a way to describe   
Farfello. How do you tell your mother that you have a certified   
sociopath for your master? "Jei-sama is Jei-sama. He saved my life."  
  
Kojiro perked up at this, "Then he's a good man?"  
  
Why's he taking such an interest in me?[2] Ranma frowned, "Depends on   
how you define 'good'."  
  
Nodoka hiked an eyebrow, "And how do _you_ define 'good', my son?"  
  
She got Ranma's cocky grin in response, "Someone who's not trying to   
kill or marry me."  
  
Nodoka lifted herself into a fully seated position. For some reason,   
she felt better than she had in years. For a moment, she thought she   
might be in shock, then she looked down. Welcome to Shock, Madame   
Saotome, "My... my wound, what...?"  
  
Kojiro and Ranma sobered, Kojiro casting a nervous look at the back of   
the martial artist's head. Ranma shrugged, "Not sure what happened...   
you just started healing very fast."  
  
Ranma could feel the older man's stare on his back, but he ignored it.   
He didn't want to explain that some smoke from his bandages had healed   
her, "Back to the old ghoul..." a nasty, wicked smirk crossed his   
features, his eyes glinting, "How long do you think it'll take that   
bitch to die?"  
  
No one, but _no one_, messed with Saotome Ranma's mother, and expected   
to live.  
  
---  
  
Crawford had opened the door before they'd even come to the steps.   
Kojiro-- dressed in a pair of black jeans, and a black vest over a grey   
turtleneck-- shivered as he caught sight of the pale haired make locked   
in a straight jacket behind him.  
  
"Ranma," you were expected. Crawford didn't need to say it, but the   
teenager knew. It helped to have a precognitive around-- you never had   
to call them.  
  
"Yo, Crawford. Let us in, would ya?"  
  
The impeccably attired man turned a narrow gaze on the kimono wearing   
woman, and her employer behind the teen. Ranma flashed him a grin that   
was more teeth than smile.  
  
"Oh, let Bishoujo and his [mommy-dearest] in, Crawfish." Kojiro's gaze   
switched from the malevolent looking youth, to the older redhead. Jade   
eyes danced with secret knowledge as the redhead drew himself up and   
away from the wall.  
  
Without a word-- only a sharp nod to the ebon haired martial artist--   
the glasses-wearing American continued deeper into the Schwartz   
household. Ranma followed cheerfully, while both his mother and the pet   
shop owner went in warily. Kojiro shivered against as he stepped past   
Farfello.  
  
The five men and single female entered the common room, where Nagi sat   
playing various online games. To both Nodoka and Kojiro's surprise,   
once they had entered the room, Ranma choose to sprawl across the floor   
beside Farfello. They said nothing, however, at the challenging flare   
from a single golden eye.  
  
"So what's with the sudden arrival, Bishoujo?"  
  
He got an annoyed glare, but nothing more as Farfello struggled to   
remove the straight jacket that bound him. Even with Crawford's pointed   
stare on his back, Ranma began to undo the jacket, "Mom was shot last   
night."  
  
"She looks fine to me," Nagi interjected with a raised brow. Ranma gave   
him a flat stare.  
  
"She got better. Now, Weiss is off on some mission tonight, so I figure   
this would be the best time to do this."  
  
"You want us to kill the shooter," Crawford concluded. Ranma grinned   
widely.  
  
"Close, but not quite. Schwartz and me are the distraction. Mom's   
taking out the old ghoul."  
  
"How long have you been planning this, Kitty?"  
  
Ranma looked up into Jei's face as he pulled the jacket away, "All day.   
We've got it planned out to the wire. Kojiro here, helped set it up. He's   
no assassin, but mom is."  
  
Crawford raised an inquiring eyebrow, "Are you any good, Saotome-san?"  
  
"One of the best," Nodoka's eyes flashed, and she wore a mimicry of her   
son's cocky grin, "I happen to be Raven."  
  
"The Lady Raven," Schuldich grinned, "Someone I've always wanted the   
pleasure of meeting, Nodoka."  
  
"What haven't exactly been introduced," Kojiro's bass rumble was soft,   
but carried an under current of authority, "So perhaps we should do   
that."  
  
"Agreed," Crawford nodded, "I am Crawford Bradley."  
  
"Naoe Nagi."  
  
"Farfello."  
  
"Schuldich."  
  
"Mugoh Kojiro."  
  
"Saotome Nodoka."  
  
Farf ran his fingers through Ranma's hair, untangling the braid, and   
removing the unneeded dragon whisker, "We all know my Kitty."   
  
"Why do you call my son 'Kitty'?"  
  
Ranma gave a purr-- one of those ones that he shouldn't be able to make   
with human vocal chords-- at Farfello's actions. The fingers through   
his hair-- even with the slightly painful tug every so often-- was   
soothing, and all the tension from the day melted out of him, as he   
went artfully boneless half sprawled over top of Jei. Farfello's eye   
glinted, gaze meeting an unflinching Nodoka. His lips quirked at that,   
"Kitty is my pet. He belongs to me."  
  
"That doesn't explain anything," Kojiro mumbled to Nodoka, and she   
nodded, tight lipped in response. Schuldich grinned, "Farfie's called   
Bishoujo there 'Kitty' since they were kids, and Farf found Ranma   
trapped in the Nekoken."  
  
"The... Nekoken...?" Nodoka looked puzzled.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Ofukuru," Ranma was still half purring, "I'll   
explain Oyagi's greatest mistake after we take down the old ghoul."  
  
"Alright, Ranma."  
  
  
End  
  
[1] Ranma can reduce anyone, including adults, into little children   
bickering in a matter of moments.  
[2] Is it just me, or does Ranma seem particularly dense at this   
moment?  
  
Anyone else notice that there's a lot of eyebrow raising in this   
chapter? Up, down, up, down, let's get those eyebrows working!   
*snickers* 


	23. Blood

Je-fucking-sus.   
  
This story is longer than a few of my favorites! And while False   
Identity is pretty much ended (all that's left is the epilogue) I'm no   
where near finished messing around. There _is_ a sequel planned, my   
friends! As if you couldn't tell from all the hints I've been dropping.  
  
I have a prereader again! Yay! Let's all clap!   
  
In anycase, you might end up waiting a couple weeks to read the epilogue;  
it's summer, and I'm going camping for the next week. I missed my trip  
last year due to my uncle dying. I'm not missing it _this_ year!  
  
  
  
False Identity  
Chapter Twenty-two: Blood  
Li Xiang  
  
  
It was a nice night to be out.  
  
Shadows lengthened as night deepened, the street lights flickering off   
then on, as some insect or another flew into the hypnotizing light. Men   
and women traveled the streets, sleepily making their way back to their   
homes for their brief hours of sleep until they had to rise and greet   
the dawn, one more time. But dawn was many hours from then. A dawn that   
would gift the world with yet another grisly death.   
  
Two deaths, Ranma thought to himself, smirking slightly. Wrapped in the   
cloak of the umi-sen-ken as he was, he was all but impossible to   
detect. It was, however, highly unlikely that anyone who was not   
psionically active, would be able to find him.   
  
His senses on full alert, the bloodlust of the Cat prowling behind the   
bars Ranma had locked it under. This was cause for precision, and   
careful planning. The Cat was more likely to pause, to stop, then play.   
So Ranma reigned in it's instincts, and for the first time in nearly a   
week, thought with the clear, analytical mind of a Master of the Art.   
He was prepared to do his part.  
  
The sixteen year old could feel the presences of those the Cat   
designated as his packmates. There was Schuldich, the flame haired   
German taking point on the roof of one business. Crawford striding   
purposely up the sidewalk, dressed impeccably in a white suit, looking   
for all the world like he was a high end businessman on his way home from   
work. Farfello skulked through the shadows, in an alley, coming from   
the opposite direction.   
  
Nagi was following the same path as Farfello, although he kept to the   
lighted streets, still dressed in his school uniform, a mask of   
tiredness and weariness artfully composed. Kojiro and his mother paced   
the sidewalk, arms hooked and cuddling like any normal couple out for a   
late night stroll.  
  
Each one of them carried their weapons, as the plan came to fruitation.   
They would not fail.  
  
It had taken them, Kitty reflected, nearly two hours to go over the   
plan and make changes as the Schwartz members saw fit. Another hour to   
get them all into their "starting positions", as Kojiro had jokingly   
called them, using Schuldich as a relay for when they had all gotten   
into place. Now, as they traveled from shadow to shadow, each with the   
perfect grace that their professions had drilled into them over the   
years, the game would begin.  
  
Ranma's smirk stretched into a wicked grin, his ki sparking behind his   
eyes, carefully leashed, but ready to be released in a moment's notice.   
If he had to, the gender-bending martial artist would bring the power   
he'd used to defeat Saffron to bear. No one hurt his mother and got   
away with it.  
  
Ranma couldn't help humming the tune that went with the words that ran   
through his mind. A soft chuckle rang distinctly through him as   
Schuldich forcibly reminded him that there was a reason for them to be   
slinking through the night, towards the Nekohanten.  
  
There would be hell to pay-- and Khu Lon was about to understand what   
it meant to have Saotome Ranma pissed off at her. The laughter that   
snaked it's way from his mouth was soft at first, before building into   
a maddening crescendo, that Jei had to join in once he heard it.   
  
The laughter that came from nowhere, yet everywhere, echoing off   
buildings sent pedestrians running, terrified for their lives, and even   
made one Kunou Kodachi shiver with terror.  
  
---  
  
/Bishoujo seems to be having a bit to much fun with this/  
  
Kojiro jumped at the tight ban telepathy rang through his mind. Nodoka,   
too, started, but calmed quicker, resting a hand lightly against   
Kojiro's chest, "It's just Schuldich, Kojiro."  
  
"I know that," the man mumbled, "I'm just not used to working with   
telepaths. I work with normal assassins. _Normal_ ones. Not telepaths!"  
  
/I'm injured that you would feel so disgusted about working with me/   
Schuldich pouted into their minds.  
  
"Be silent, Schuldich," Nodoka hissed, "We're almost there, and we need   
our concentration."  
  
/Whatever you say, Madam Raven./ The slight pressure of an extra   
presence in their backs of their minds vanished, as the pair drew up   
next to the closed doors of the Nekohanten. They only had to wait for a   
moment, before Muu Tzu came flying through the door, in human form. As   
the amazon boy touched down, he rolled, kipupping to his feet and   
staring around himself with wide eyes, glasses perched on his forehead.  
  
There had been no one in the Nekohanten aside from himself and Khu Lon.   
Khu Lon had been upstairs when he'd been thrown out-- by someone who   
had not been there. He'd felt something grip him, like a giant's hand,   
it wrapped around his whole body, and he'd gone hurtling through the   
door.  
  
There was no one outside, either. While Muu Tzu had been getting to his   
feet, Nodoka and Kojiro darted inside the building, Farfello joining   
them via the backdoor, to the alley. He'd make sure the job got done,   
if it was too much for Nodoka to handle alone.   
  
"What the hell was that, Muu Tzu?!" Khu Lon froze as she finished   
pogoing down the stairs. Muu Tzu was not in the room, but three   
familiar figures were. Her eyes landed first on Farfello, and she felt   
her blood boil-- this was the man who had been the one to slit her   
great granddaughter's throat, to kill her, as it was. Then came Kojiro,   
who she'd actually had a pleasant talk with while awaiting Lady Raven's   
arrival the night prior.  
  
Her blood, boiling as it was, instantly chilled, almost turning to ice   
as she got a good look at the final figure. Nodoka stood tall and   
proud, dressed in a simple red kimono, with a red obi, and no   
decorations, no patterns. Her sword was held in a steady grip at her   
side, the sheath tucked into the back of her obi. Frozen blue eyes   
stared into the ancient amazon's withered face, and a faint smirk   
curled the lips of the female assassin.  
  
"You made a grave mistake in attacking me, Khu Lon," the amazon   
stiffened. Nodoka's words had been spoken in perfect mandarin-- in the   
amazon dialect, even.   
  
"How...?"  
  
"Did I survive?" the smile that had painted her face a moment earlier   
vanished, "Let's just say I have more in common with my son than hair   
color." There was a crash outside the doors, and Muu Tzu's howl of   
extreme pain.  
  
---  
  
Ranma had gleefully pounced on Muu Tzu as the boy searched for the   
reason for his being thrown out the door. Sweeping the Chinese boy into   
a full nelson, Ranma hissed into his ear, "Guess who's still alive."  
  
"Saotome!" Muu Tzu thrashed, finally flipping Ranma off of himself, and   
sending the pigtailed youth into the Nekohanten wall. A split second   
later, Muu Tzu gave a howl of pain as Nagi focused his telekinesis on   
keeping the boy still. Ranma's ki claws buried themselves into the   
boy's stomach, while a single bullet from Crawford's gun rang out.   
While the bullet merely bounced off the kevlar armor the boy wore   
beneath his robes, Ranma's ki claws were energy, pure and simple,   
slicing through the armor. They flickered out a moment later, as blood   
soaked the white robes.  
  
A nasty, almost insane look crossed the gender-shifting teenager's   
face, terrifying Muu Tzu, who's glasses had fallen over his eyes. He'd   
never seen Ranma look like this, except... except while in the Nekoken.   
The claws led him to believe that _that_ had to be it-- but a second of   
staring into chilling smokey blue eyes left that train of thought in   
the dust. There was intelligence shining in his eyes.   
  
Ruthless, bloodthirsty, evil intelligence, but intelligence none the   
less.   
  
Was this what Saffron saw? Muu Tzu spent an eternal instant wondering.   
Did the Phoenix god see his own death in Saotome's eyes? Oh god, I   
don't want to die... then the instant fled, and Muu Tzu found himself   
able to move again. One hand flew, by instinct, to the wound in his   
stomach, pain radiating outwards, throughout his body. Blood soaked his   
fingers, just as his blood soaked Ranma's hands.  
  
"I've never gotten to taste your blood," Ranma mused to himself, "I've   
had Ryouga's, and Oyagi's before, but never yours..." he trailed off,   
lifting his hand to his mouth and running his tongue over the back of   
his hand like a big cat.   
  
Muu Tzu saw his chance, leaping forwards to attack while Ranma was   
distracted. The fact that Ranma was distracted by his blood sickened   
him, but he ignored it for the moment. When Ranma was dead, he could   
hurl at the thought all he wanted. The Chinese boy knew, very well,   
that some women in his village still followed the tradition of eating   
the heart of any male they killed, raw and dripping with fresh blood.   
It was a disgusting ritual, and had always made him throw up whenever   
he saw the gruesome act.  
  
This wasn't as bad, but it was still gross enough to make his stomach   
do flip-flops.  
  
"FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!" he roared, launching the potty-training seat   
at his enemy, following that with a ruthless side kick to Ranma's gut   
in an attempt to take the martial artist out.  
  
But the amazon had forgotten to take blood loss into account as he   
moved into the attack. His first attack fell short by four inches,   
causing Ranma to look up at his opponent. The kick was sloppy and weak,   
Muu Tzu trying desperately to keep his balance and connect. Ranma's   
hand dropped into the way, catching his foot. With the slightest of   
tugs, Muu Tzu found himself falling forwards-- Ranma's fist ramming him   
in the solar plexus at full strength, throwing him back to land   
haphazardly on the ground, staring up at the sky, daze and panting.   
  
"You see, Mousse, you _really_ shouldn't have attacked me last night.   
Like the Amerikajin say-- Payback's a bitch."  
  
He crawled to his knees, then stumbled to his feet as he stood up.   
Using the conveniently placed light post, Muu Tzu braced himself. Ranma   
was walking slowly, like a predator who knows his prey is his to play   
with. Lifting both arms, the male amazon triggered the small bit of ki   
in the folds of his robes, unfolding the pockets of ki that surrounded   
him. Hundreds of weapons lashed out from his clothing-- on chains or   
not-- ripping the air to pieces as they flew at Ranma. Shuriken,   
throwing knives, darts and arrows even launched from his hair to attack   
his opponent.  
  
But Ranma had had an entire day to recover from the attack the night   
before-- having slept during to day to rid himself of his sleep   
depravation-- and would not be taken down so easily again. The weapons   
were focused on where he _had_ been, as Ranma had leapt into the air,   
lightly landing on the highest of the chains, running lightly down the   
links to deliver a sharp snap kick to Muu Tzu's skull. His head snapped   
back, cracking against the pole, and the boy slumped to the ground.   
  
After a moment, Ranma kicked the teen, just to check. No movement. The   
boy's breath was shallow, and he looked up at the members of Schwartz   
around him, "Do we leave him unconscious, or do we kill him?"  
  
"Leaving him unconscious means he's likely to recover and attack us   
again," Nagi watched the boy with narrowed eyes, "And he's strong. He   
almost broke out of my hold on him when I threw him from the restaurant   
the first time-- I couldn't even get a grip on him the second time."  
  
"I'd noticed," Ranma looked at the young boy, then over at Crawford,   
"Hey, you see the future, right? Why didn't you see your shot not going   
through like we planned?"  
  
Crawford gave Kitty a flat-eyed stare, but did not speak. He wasn't   
about to reveal that Ranma, himself, was the reason he couldn't get a   
clear picture of the future, and that various snippets he did see--   
which were less than normal, at that-- were confused. Until Ranma   
officially started working for them/with them/against them, Crawford   
would be unable to get a clear picture. It all depended on how the   
boy's loyalties would fall. His stay with Weiss had been unpredicted,   
his blossoming friendship with Abyssian had shocked him quite a bit,   
having not expected it.  
  
"Alright, alright, if you don't want to tell me, fine," Ranma lifted   
his hands to his mouth to finish licking the blood off, having let the   
Cat loose once again, "I'm going to go check on Jei-sama and mom."  
  
The three Schwartz members turned their gazes on the unconscious   
martial artist before them, and Crawford lifted his gun once more,   
carefully aiming it at Muu Tzu's skull. He paused a moment, awaiting a   
vision to see if his actions would be halted, then smiled. It was not a   
nice smile.  
  
---  
  
As all this happened, Nodoka and Khu Lon faced off. Kojiro and   
Farfello-- no matter how much Farfello had wanted to be part of the   
bloodshed-- had backed off to watch from the wall. Khu Lon had speed,   
and skill on her side. Nodoka had reach and a natural gift for swords   
on hers.   
  
The amazon elder lead off, a jab to the pressure point on Nodoka's   
wrist for her to drop the sword-- it worked, but Nodoka merely swapped   
hands in that instant, grinning, "I'm ambidextrous."  
  
Damn, Khu Lon growled to herself, weaving in and out of attacks that   
flew at her with blinding speed. Nodoka was skilled with a sword-- no   
wonder Genma was terrified of his wife-- and she had no compunctions   
against taking blood. Khu Lon had little doubt that _that_ was the   
reason she had come. Revenge for her near death the night before. The   
Old woman didn't stay focused on that for long, nor on wondering   
exactly _how_ Nodoka had survived the fatal shot...  
  
...that reminded her...  
  
One moment she was parrying sword strikes with her staff, the next she   
was across the room, firing her small 9mm handgun. Nodoka grit her   
eeth, dodging as best she could, and still receiving a bullet to her   
shoulder for her efforts. Three more shots rang out, and again Nodoka   
dodged. Only one bullet hit her flesh this time-- cutting across the   
flat of her stomach-- the other two ripping through the silk of her   
kimono, but not her.   
  
Letting a hissing breath through her teeth, Nodoka only let herself   
calm down from her frantic dodging when Khu Lon dropped the gun. Empty   
of bullets as it was, it was pretty much useless. There was no point in   
trying to put another clip in. In the time it would take to do that,   
Nodoka could quite feasiblely cut her into pieces.   
  
Oh yes, Khu Lon had noticed that Nodoka was strengthening, and   
sharpening, the sword with her own ki. It was probably the only ki   
manipulation the woman knew, but it was a dangerous one. The blade had   
become sharp enough to cut through diamond.  
  
Rolling her shoulder-- the one with the bullet still in it-- Nodoka   
scowled at her opponent. Across the room, Kojiro stood, slack jawed, as   
for the first time ever, he got to see Nodoka fight full-out with her   
sword. Farfello had pulled out one of his knives to suckle on it,   
seeing as he wasn't allowed to participate until Nodoka went down.   
Normally, he wouldn't have cared, but the warnings from both Crawford   
and Kitty as to what should happen to him if he interfered kept him   
from leaping in to massacre.  
  
Nodoka licked her lips, dropping into a defensive stance, and creeping   
closer to Khu Lon, waiting for anything.  
  
Well, almost anything. The Splitting Cat Hairs technique was not one   
the woman had been prepared for. The multiple images of Khu Lon dancing   
around her, darting in and out to attack confused her. She'd whirl to   
defend herself, but that image was just like smoke, impervious, as she   
was hit from behind by Khu Lon herself.   
  
A snarl curled the woman's lips as bruises began to form, and paralysis   
stole over half her body. She found herself unable to move her legs--   
legs unable to hold her up and she tumbled to the floor, katana still   
in her grip. She would not lose this battle!  
  
The images faded as Khu Lon launched a frontal attack, merely for the   
sake of seeing the shock on Nodoka's face as she was utterly defeated--   
then killed. She would not make the same mistake she had the night   
before.   
  
There was one thing Khu Lon forgot, in paralyzing Nodoka.   
  
Nodoka had told her, out right, she was ambidextrous. Khu Lon only   
froze the arm that had been holding the sword. In one single, fluid   
movement, the katana went from her paralyzed left hand to her right   
hand. And in the movement, Nodoka raised the sword.  
  
Khu Lon, in her overconfidence, found herself impaled on the sword. The   
redheaded middle aged woman snarled at the ancient amazon, "Now, it   
ends." And she jerked the sword upwards.  
  
Kojiro felt like hurling at the brutality of the death. He was used to   
a simple knife through the ribs, or maybe a bullet to the heart or   
head. He was not used to seeing a dangerous, old, wrinkled woman get   
impaled on a sword, then cut open from stomach to collar. Jei grinned   
widely, crowing with joy at the death. This was what he liked. The   
death of this ancient woman had been a beautiful display of savagery.   
It made him almost _quiver_ with excitement.[1]  
  
"Whoa, what happened to the Old Ghoul?"  
  
Jei bounded across the room, happily sweeping his Kitty into his arms   
and nuzzling his neck. The nuzzling, however, turned into a sharp,   
stinging bite that drew blood a moment later. Ranma revealed in the   
feeling for a second, before returning his attention to his mother.   
Nodoka had pulled the blade from her victim's body, removing the cloth   
that she always carried to clean the blood off of it. She glanced,   
curiously, at her son and the man who was so possessive of him, then   
returned to her work.  
  
"Cologne was overconfident. She used a frontal assault when it would   
have been smarter to attack from behind."  
  
"So beautiful," Farfello murmured into his pet's neck, "Her blood   
spilled across the floor, splattering with the force of her death. God   
wails this night, as one of his oldest children lay dead at our feet.   
And he will continue to--" he was cut off by the sound of a single,   
unsilenced shot ringing out over the business district. Schuldich let   
out a loud whoop, accompanied by a hoot of laughter.  
  
/Crawford let off a little bit of steam, unsilenced. We'd better get,   
before the cops arrive,/ his voice rushed through their minds, and the   
group glanced at each other.  
  
Three minutes later, Schwartz, Ranma, Kojiro and Nodoka had left the   
premises, the only signs of their even being there, the corpse of Khu   
Lon in her restaurant, pinned to the table by her own staff-- courtesy   
of Farfello, who had no known fingerprints due to burning them off for   
fun-- and Muu Tzu who lay in a puddle of his own blood against a light   
post, a bullet through his skull.  
  
It was a nice night, indeed.  
  
  
End  
  
[1] is it only me, or is that kind of a scary thought...? 


	24. Endings

Yes, Chapter Twenty-three is the epilogue. False Identity is over.  
  
Of course, this paves the way for True Identity, the sequel. Be amazed   
by my abilities to continue something on whether people want it or not!   
(I'm hoping people will want it... *grins* People like Green-chan.   
Hiiii! *waves madly*)  
  
And, just to make sure everyone is nice and happy and whatnot, the   
prologue for True Identity is being put up at the same time! XD Yes   
indeed, the prologue will be up and nice and stuff. I'm soooo cool.   
*sticks her tongue out at everyone who says she's not*  
  
I hope you guys had as much fun reading this as I did writting it,   
and...   
  
GIMME FANART! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!   
(me email is jutsu@3web.net, for those at FF.net who don't want to   
have to go back to my profile to get it. Lazy bastards.)  
  
  
False Identity  
Epilogue: Endings  
Li Xiang  
  
  
  
It was all over the news. The police had tried to keep it covered up,   
but with the way things run, it couldn't stay that way. They'd said it   
was a random act of violence, at first.  
  
Then came the knowledge of the prior attacks, and it became   
premeditated murder. No one in Nerima was willing to put their neck   
out, they weren't stupid. They didn't want to end up dead, although   
everyone in the district knew exactly who had done the attack.   
  
They figured that he'd finally snapped under the pressure. And if he   
had, none of them wanted to be on his bad side. Not with Nabiki's   
obvious limp, and Kunou's cast encased arm. Not with Akane and Xian Phu   
both in comas in the hospital. Not with Muu Tzu and Khu Lon as cooled   
corpses. They were smart. They weren't going to rile Saotome Ranma by   
telling the police that he was the attacker.  
  
But the police were smart. They connected Ranma to the murders and   
attacks quickly and efficiently. It didn't matter, though. What they   
learned made many a man stare up at his ceiling at night, shaking under   
the covers of his bed, or seeking comfort in his wife's embrace. Ranma   
was a man to be feared-- he could vanish into thin air, even with one   
looking directly at him, the son of a wanted master thief.   
  
So the media never learned who had attacked and killed the Amazon boy,   
and elder. Any member of the media who did learn, soon forgot, care of   
a single bottle of formula 119 shampoo.  
  
After all, Xian Phu, Khu Lon and Muu Tzu weren't the only nyucheuzu in   
Tokyo.  
  
---  
  
It had been two weeks since that beautiful night of bloodshed.  
  
Their lives had calmed down, Schwartz and Weiss going off on missions   
as they were want to do, testing new and improved ways to kill each   
other-- as taught by the two Saotomes-- and ultimately doing little   
damage to each other and lots of damage to their targets, and their   
target's bodyguards.  
  
Rache got a workout in healing the times they did get hurt-- to the   
point where she got stronger with her powers, and started yelling at   
anyone who came to her to heal a scratch, even if it _was_ from Aya's   
sword, or Farfello's knives.   
  
Of course, over the course of those two weeks, Schuldich, Farfello and   
Ranma spent the majority of their time trying to convince Crawford that   
leaving Estet was a good idea-- on that, he agreed, it was the _other_   
point that put him off. The one that would have Schwartz and Weiss both   
disappear from the world market for hired men, and for them to end up   
living together.  
  
There were also the terms of the agreement, that Crawford was a bit   
leery of. They were essentially stating that Schwartz would become   
defunct as a unit. That they'd have to find new jobs, a new way of   
living. The American didn't want to give up his lifestyle. He _liked_   
his lifestyle.  
  
Schuldich had finally been able to convince Crawford to "just go to the   
damned warehouse and talk about the terms with Weiss". He'd said that   
they weren't going there to agree and be happy about it-- they were   
going to argue for favorable terms on both sides, and eventually come   
to an agreement.  
  
"Nice place," Crawford drawled dryly, shooting his teammates a dark   
look. The warehouse looked run down, and out of sorts, in the midday   
light. An eyesore. Ranma just grinned widely, throwing the doors open   
and bowing comically, the European way, to Bradley.  
  
"The inside is much better, I assure you," the blue eyed teen teased   
happily, slipping in beside Farfello once the others had gotten in. Jei   
tugged Ranma to him by the sleeve, but the martial artist merely   
grinned widely, wriggling out of the grip and darting off to inform the   
others that Schwartz had arrived.  
  
While his mother and Kojiro were, indeed, in the circle of people who'd   
congregated in the "main room"-- otherwise known as the room with a lot   
of computer screens and teribi for one wall-- neither were planning on   
moving into the warehouse. They'd only come to work as peacemakers   
between the two enemy groups should tensions arise. They didn't need   
someone trying to kill someone else in the middle of "negotiations".  
  
By the time supper had rolled around, though, the only thing both   
groups had agreed to was leaving their respective "companies".   
Tensions, as expected, had risen, although the groups that had been   
separated into had not been expected. Farfello and Ranma, of course,   
had been part of one group, with the inclusion of both Aya and,   
surprisingly, Yohji. Crawford, Nagi, Ken and Omi made another group,   
with Schuldich, and Rache in the final group. Nodoka and Kojiro were   
actually backing the two Germans, while attempting to stay neutral.  
  
They weren't going to have to live with them, after all.  
  
Crawford's group was willing to leave Estet and Kritiker, but not to   
move in together. Schuldich and Rache wanted the two groups to both   
leave, and to move in together. While Ranma's party was willing for the   
two groups to move into the warehouse, they didn't want to leave   
Kritiker or Estet. After all, Kritiker had been employing the Fujimiya   
family for years, and Yohji had been given another chance by Kritiker   
after Asuka's[1] death. Farfello felt the tiniest bit of loyalty to the   
men that had ordered his "release" from the mental institution in   
Dublin, while Ranma would side with whatever his Jei-sama thought.  
  
It was a touchy subject, the agreement, and it seemed like it was about   
to pull one of the most annoying tricks in all history.  
  
Bicker and argue, and not do a damn thing for all eternity.  
  
They broke for dinner, the groups dissipating to find something to eat   
while they worked the problems over. Well, Crawford's group, Aya,   
Yohji, and Rache were going to think it over. Farfello, Ranma, and   
Schuldich were just going to look for something fun to do. Nodoka had   
forbidden her son to cause any bloodshed, however, so that limited   
their "fun" down to non-lethal, non-violent means.  
  
Ranma wasn't about to disobey his mother. She was to important to him.  
  
The two gaijins and their martial artist companion prowled the streets,   
picking up a bite to eat at some random Okinomiyaki-ya-- Ranma's   
comment of "it's not as good as Ucchan's", setting the owner into a fit   
of rage. The three young men had laughed as they walked away from the   
suddenly cowering owner. Watching Farfello stab his own tongue, while   
sticking it out and letting the blood drip off could do that to anyone.  
  
"How long til we hafta be back?"  
  
Schuldich shrugged, grinning wolfishly at a passing woman with long,   
greenish-black hair, "About an hour or so. They can probably start   
without us, Bishoujo."  
  
"They probably will," Ranma grinned, hooking his arm through Jei's. The   
one-eyed assassin glared dangerously at those who watched them with   
open disgust on their faces. Ranma tried to ignore the few stares he   
got, but couldn't help blush bright red. Or look around nervously for   
the sight of Mallet-sama, which wasn't about to show up. After all,   
Akane was in a coma.  
  
/Programmed reaction, eh Bishoujo?/ Schuldich grinned at the dirty look   
he got in response. Flaunting mental powers to those who did not have   
them was actually kinda fun. Although, it was usually only Rache and   
Ranma who got angry over it. Everyone else was either wary of him, or   
scared shitless. That was fun, too, scaring people. Heh.  
  
"We have any idea of what we gunna do?" Ranma continued, still glaring   
at Schuldich. Farfello grinned widely.  
  
"Hurt God!" He was, of course, pointing to a long flight of stairs, and   
the shrine atop it. What a way to hurt god-- desecrate a shrine to him!   
Schuldich rolled his eyes, and Ranma grinned wryly, but the two fell   
into step as Jei bounded cheerfully up the stairs.  
  
"Yes?" a shrine maiden peered at them, violet eyes shadowed by long   
black hair. She was scowling at them, "Is there something I can do for   
you?"  
  
Schuldich had frozen upon seeing the woman, and afterwards, Ranma had   
sworn up and down that Schuldich had flared a fairly large battle aura.   
The two sadomasochists backed away from the German, glancing at each   
other. With an abrupt nod, they each grabbed one of Schuldich's arms   
and dragged him away from the temple. As much fun as it would be to see   
Schuldich kill the girl, they were nervous for a very good reason.  
  
The only time they'd ever seen him this angry was when some blonde   
cross-dressing chick had been cussing out Rache. Schuldich had put her   
in the hospital, surprisingly not killing the girl, but had destroyed a   
fairly large area of the Juuban District in doing so. He hadn't   
recognized either of his friends-- not even Rache, his own sister!--   
when he'd finished, and it had only been by using a fairly high powered   
Mouko Takabisha that had knocked the man out of his lunatic rage.   
  
Ranma and Rache had spoken to each other about it, wondering if maybe   
the man had been rooting around in Farfello's mind to much. Or maybe   
that when he was skimming Ranma's cat-mind, he'd picked up a few of the   
nastier Nekoken traits. They hadn't figured it out yet, only knew that   
Schuldich with a battle aura pretty much meant an outta control guy,   
with no way to shut him down.  
  
So they dragged Schuldich away, in fear of getting themselves killed if   
they weren't fast enough. Hey, a little pain and a little blood was   
alright. They didn't want to be _dead_ though. They liked being alive.   
If only to cause a little mayhem and to hurt god even more.   
  
"What was _that_ all about?" Ranma asked when the redhead had finally   
calmed down enough to talk. Schuldich was slouched in the chair at the   
small cafe they'd ducked into.  
  
Schuldich sighed, "That was one of Rache's old "friends"."  
  
"You mean those bitches that ditched her for no good reason?" Ranma   
growled. Rache was a friend. Jei's eye narrowed, and the mere glint of   
cruel intelligence darting through the amber iris only meant one thing.   
Farfello's sadistic, sane, side was in control.  
  
"If you loose control like that again, Schuldich, we can't let you get   
near her. However, Kitty and I..."  
  
"I like the way you think, Jei-sama."  
  
"Of course you do," Schuldich grinned, then sighed, "Ah, don't worry   
about it. I want to leave those girls alive so that when kleine   
schwester goes after them, they know _true_ fear. Kind of like what   
went on with Raven and the living corpse."  
  
Both nodded. They could understand that. After a few moments, Ranma   
sighed, "C'mon, we'd better get going. They'll start the meeting   
without us, and we won't even get a voice in for what we want."  
  
"It's not like you two are doing anything but be annoying," Schuldich   
snorted, "You change your vote every time it looks like we're about to   
come to a decision, just to keep us from deciding."  
  
The ebon haired teenager's eyes sparkled, "Yeah, well, money is a   
lovely deciding factor."  
  
"Money?"  
  
"Said to much, Kitty," Farfello snickered, climbing to his feet, before   
he and his Kitty ran off, laughing as Schuldich chased them back   
towards the warehouse.  
  
"Money? What money? Hey! You're being _paid_ to fuck this up?!"  
  
  
End  
  
[1] Is it Asuka? I can't remember...  
  
Well, False Identity has come to an end. I was hoping to make it   
longer, but the ideas for how to run this without starting into the   
True Identity plot just ran out. So, here's the epilogue and the   
lead-in to True Identity. Want to know what Rache does to her   
ex-friends? Can't figure out the blatantly obvious clues to who the   
cross-dressing blonde chick is, the girl with singers following her   
around, or the black haired shrine maiden?   
  
Then you'll just have to wait for True Identity, wherein the girl named   
revenge gets her revenge. Whoo! Go Rache!   
  
And there's no doubt about it. Ranma will be a major influence-- and we   
can't forget Schuldich or Farfello. Aya's in there too. Maybe the   
others will make an appearance or ten. Who knows...? *grins widely*   
Okay, yes, I _do_ know, but am I going to tell you? Nope! I'm not   
ruining it!  
  
Until Next Time,   
Sammi "Li Xiang" Leigh 


End file.
